Bone China Vs Porcelain Vs Ceramic

Recognizing the difference between bone china and porcelain is all about the ingredients in the ceramic mixture and its firing process.

Bone china vs porcelain vs ceramic. The durability of bone china is based on the percent of bone content. Porcelain is a much more durable material and is much harder than either type of china. The formal definition of porcelain dinnerware is a white vitrified translucent ceramic. If you hold the china up to the light you ll see that bone china has a translucent quality compared to fine china.

Note that china dinnerware is not to be confused with fine china or bone china dinnerware which is a separate category comprised of clay and bone ash. Bone china a kind of ware made of a lucid body out of 30 phosphate from calculated amount of calcium phosphate and animal bone. Porcelain is forged at a higher temperature averaging around 1 455 celsius 2 650 fahrenheit. The inclusion of the bone ash means that bone china is less brittle than other types of porcelain and thus less prone to chipping or cracking.

It can be fired at a temperature as low as 1 450 f to produce the same strength as hard paste porcelain fired at the higher temperature. Bone china is the most durable type of porcelain. Bone china has a composition similar to that of porcelain but at least fifty percent of the material is finely powdered bone ash mixed with china stone also called cornish or cornwall stone. Bone ash which is made from animal bones is combined with porcelain clay and fired at a slightly lower temperature than porcelain to produce a material that is very lightweight delicate in feel and translucent with a milky appearance.

Bone china offers a slightly more elegant appeal due to the lighter weight and body composition. In contrast to bone china s almost exact composition porcelain has varied composites. It is comprised mostly of bone ash kaolin and feldspathic material. Due to geological differences between north and south of the yangtze river ceramic porcelain produced consists of different raw materials.

Porcelain is generally thicker than bone china products. Both bone china and porcelain can be very valuable depending on the specifics of the piece age maker or manufacturer and condition. If you are unsure of the difference between porcelain and bone china these pointers may clarify things for you. It is fired at such high temperatures 1 200 1 400 degrees c that the clay becomes vitrified or glasslike.

Bone china vs porcelain. Despite its fragile presentation bone china is actually the strongest and most durable ceramic dinnerware.