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Memories made around the dinner table throughout the years are an important part of everyone’s lives. Whether it’s discussing the mundane day-to-day, gossiping about coworkers, or sharing a funny incident, a dinner table is where everyone comes together. This fact makes choosing the right kind of dinner set very crucial. After all, don’t we all enjoy that feeling of going back to our parent’s house and eating on our childhood plate?
When choosing your own best dinner set as an adult, there is a good chance you might get overwhelmed by the options. From what material is durable to what material looks the best, there’s a lot to consider. Luckily for you, we at Arcedior have broken down characteristics, advantages, and considerations for each material, helping you make an informed decision for your next dinner set. Enjoy!
Classic Stoneware or Ceramic Dinner SetA ceramic dinner set is a staple in almost all households and perhaps the most used material on this list. Ceramic plates balance beauty, durability, and budget well, making them the go-to option for most homes. Stoneware is considered one of the more durable ceramics that can add elegance and functionality to your dining table, making your meals more enjoyable and memorable.
Source: The Table Fable
Stoneware Ceramic Dinner PlatesThe Berlin blue dinner plate is a must-have for every kitchen. The blue matte ceramic dinner plate will add a touch of class to your table and tableware collection. This is one of the best dinner set options.
Highlights of the ProductBone china dinner sets are one of the most luxurious options you can opt for. These plates define elegance, and their beautiful designs and long shelf-life is a great justification for their price. They are prized for their delicate beauty, lightweight nature, and superior strength.
Source: Kaunteya
Bone China Dinner SetThe sturdy yet sleek fine bone china Jyamiti dinner set perfectly embodies the beauty of bone china. With its gold-plated finish, you can break this set out at any fancy dinner party.
Highlights of the ProductIs there anything like silver to establish class and luxury? We don’t think so. These plates look absolutely gorgeous and can serve as the centerpiece of any dining table. Additionally, silverware is also proven to have antibacterial properties, making it a health-conscious choice for you and your family.
Source: The Decor Remedy
Silver Dinner SetThis stunning silver dinner set has a sleek, minimalistic look. Crafted from pure brass and coated in 1 micron of chaandi, they are cherished heirlooms and statement pieces. You can use these sets for special occasions or everyday use, and they will provide a sense of warmth to your dining table.
Highlights of the ProductBrass dinnerware has always been highly regarded, not only due to its looks but also thanks to its numerous health benefits. They are known for their intricate designs and warm golden hues. These sets are perfect for adding an ethnic and antique charm to your dining experience.
Source: Anantaya
Brass Dinner SetThe Hookka Brass Thali is the perfect way for you to incorporate the elegance of brass into your everyday life. In terms of materials, this is one of the best dinner sets.
Highlights of the ProductA glass dinner set is a timeless and lavish option for your home. The material is completely food-safe and can be brought out during any important family events. Glass dinnerware is also highly resistant to heat, making it a reliable choice for those that tend to depend on microwave cooking.
Source: Courtyard
Glass Dinner PlatesThe Shehtuti glass dinner plate makes the dining table more sophisticated and luxurious. A lovely collection of dinner and tea plates complement all serving cuisines and delicacies.
Highlights of the ProductThe best dinner set is the Kansa dinner set, also known as “Kansa Ware” or “Bronze Dinner Set,” which is a unique and traditional dining ware that has been used in Indian households for centuries. This dinner set not only has a pleasing design but also has cultural value, organic materials, and Ayurvedic benefits. It is a great option for people looking for a unique eating experience that is also health-conscious.
Source: Kansyam
Kansa Dinner SetThe Kansa Thali set is made of bronze metal that does not react with sour and acidic food and is considered perfect for eating the food. It is a safe and eco-friendly choice for serving and consuming food.
Highlights of the ProductPorcelain is what you should turn to if you’re looking for beauty on a budget. These sets have a graceful look and come with benefits like scratch and heat resistance. Porcelain’s refined appearance makes it suitable for both casual and formal dining occasions, and its versatility ensures it blends seamlessly with any table decor.
Source: White Hill Studio
Porcelain Dinner SetThe River of Gold dinner plates are a must-have if you love porcelain dinnerware. This durable, lightweight, and typically dishwasher and microwave-safe set is beautiful and practical.
Highlights of the ProductSource: Arttd'inox
Steel Dinner SetSteel Dinner sets bring back a lot of memories for most of us. These sets are beloved far and wide because of their affordable price and solid quality. They are lightweight, easy to maintain, and suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Steel sets are typically resistant to rust and corrosion, ensuring their longevity.
Lightweight Melamine Dinner SetSource: West Elm
Melamine Dinner SetA melamine dinner set is known for its affordability, lightweight, and break-resistant properties. They are perfect for outdoor use, picnics, and family gatherings because they are composed of sturdy, plastic-like material. Melamine plates are carefully shined and glazed to ensure you get a beautiful set. The material is also very easy to clean as they are dishwasher safe, but it should not be used in a microwave or an oven!
ConclusionPicking out the best dinner set is always a big decision. The set you do end up choosing will stay in your home for a long time and will become an almost essential member of the family. You will make many memories sharing a meal with loved ones on your dinner set, and as such, it is best to give this decision its due importance.
We hope our blog helped you learn a little bit more about the various choice of dinner set materials and guided you in figuring out what works best for your home. If you’re still looking to explore options for the best dinner set, we recommend surfing through our detailed collection here.
Frequently Asked Questions Which material is better for a dinner set?Materials like ceramic, stoneware, melamine, and glass are usually your best bets when it comes to a dinner set. Each of these materials is pocket friendly without compromising on aesthetics. These materials are usually fully food safe and a healthy choice for you and your loved ones. These sets are also extremely durable and will last you a long time.
Which dinnerware material is most durable?Melamine is considered to be one of the most durable materials when it comes to dinnerware. Melamine sets are made of a kind of plastic that is fairly resistant to heat, scratches, and breakage. This material is also lightweight despite its strength. Certain other choices like bone china, glass, and stoneware also rate highly on the durability scale for dinnerware.
How durable is glass dinnerware?Glass dinnerware is a fairly durable choice and is bound to last you a long time with proper care. Most glass dinnerware is treated with care to ensure that you have a strong finished product that is heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe. Alongside being durable, glass is also one of the most hygienic dinner set choices.
What are dinner sets made of?Dinner sets can be made of various materials like stainless steel, porcelain, brass, and many more. Stainless steel is a durable choice suited for every home. Porcelain is what you should opt for if you want an aesthetic set at an affordable price. Brass dinnerware is a classy option that has numerous health benefits.
How durable is ceramic dinnerware?While it may not top the charts when it comes to durability, ceramic is a fairly strong and tough material. The heating process that ceramic goes through is quite intense and results in a hardened dinner set ideal for everyday usage. Additionally, ceramic is a nearly hundred percent corrosion-resistant material.
What makes steel dinner sets suitable for everyday use?There are multiple reasons why steel dinnerware is suitable for everyday use. First and foremost, it is a completely food-safe material, meaning you can use it day in and day out at no risk to your health. Secondly, steel is very easy to clean. And last but not least, steel, especially stainless steel, is an extremely durable material that can withstand prolonged usage.
Armed with a PGDM in Marketing from the International School of Business & Media, Pune, Neha has more than 9 years of experience in this field. Her speciality lies in strategic planning, branding, social media, brand communication, and market research to name a few. Being an avid reader, she is always looking forward to learning new things and loves to explore new places. You can contact her at hello@arcedior.com
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When it comes to ordering silver sheet and wire for jewelry making, as a beginner all the different options can often become overwhelming. When you are starting out creating jewelry you don’t want to break the bank buying a bunch of materials you may never utilize! You want to have the ability to be thoughtful about your design, considering which thickness of metal will be appropriate for executing your vision and also strong enough to hold up during daily wear.
In this comprehensive guide, I will provide visuals to help demystify the different options so that the next time you purchase materials for a project you can do so in confidence! Whether you're a seasoned artisan or a budding jeweler, understanding the nuances of the different options is crucial for bringing your designs to life.
Before we talk about anything we must discuss the different options for purchasing silver. The most common is sterling silver (.925) which has 7.5% copper giving the sterling durability and strength but increasing its susceptibility to firescale and tarnish. The other main option is fine silver (.999) It’s significantly softer than sterling, has a whiter appearance and is way less prone to tarnishing as it is almost entirely pure silver. Fine silver can be fused.
My perspective for beginners is that fine will generally be too soft for ring bands and structural parts of your jewelry designs, it can dent and bend. It can however be nice for a bezel wire.Then there is Argentium Silver which comes in two grades .940 and .960. It has increased tarnish resistance, a whiter color and a firestain-free surface. Argentium guarantees traceability of its raw silver, it is certified to be produced using only recycled silver. It can also be fused unlike sterling silver. Sounds amazing, but I confess I have very little personal experience with it, it wasn’t very popular when I came onto the jewelry making scene in 2005. There are some differences between working with Argentium and Sterling so if you choose this path be sure to read up on it!
Most jewelers especially beginners will likely learn with Sterling, it is the most affordable and the durability aspect is very important!
When you go to buy a sheet of silver you are going to have to select a “gauge”. This is the common measurement used here in United States. Gauge is a standardized measurement, the lower the gauge number the thicker the metal is and that is where much of the confusion begins! It is also important to understand the corresponding measurements in millimeters which I will also provide.
Sheet metal is going to be one of your most commonly used forms of silver when making jewelry. Sheet is available for purchase from jewelry supply companies here in the United States from 8g (3.2mm) to 34g (0.2mm) so that is quite the range! In this article I’m going to focus on sterling silver (.925) when making my recommendations.
To answer the above question I have to start with the annoying response “it depends”. Without knowing what you are designing I can’t provide an exact answer but I can explain a good place to start as a beginner and why.Generally speaking if your plan is to have sheet on hand to use as the baseplate of bezel settings and pendants or perhaps sheet for earrings…you cannot go wrong with purchasing 18g (1mm) it is thick enough to be stamped, light enough to construct earrings and strong enough to back a bezel without warping. While on the thinner side it could also be used to create a ring band making it a very versatile purchase. If it is within your budget I would also recommend some 20g (.81mm) and some 16g (1.2mm) having these slightly thinner and thicker options will give you more versatility as you continue on making jewelry. My preference with my jewelry business (corkieboltonjewelry.com) is to make jewelry that is on the thicker side, not heavy or chunky but just substantial.
On top of selecting the metal type (sterling or fine) and the gauge you will also have the options for different tempers. Temper refers to the hardness of the metal. The options are: dead soft (annealed), ¼ hard (a bit resistant to bending but readily takes shape) , ½ hard (has been worked a bit, tightening the grain at the molecular level. You can still bend the metal a bit, with force), and spring hard (thoroughly hardened and has basically no malleability.) If you will be soldering on the piece you’re making, you may as well start with dead soft because it’s easy to work with and any hardness the metal may have will be lost when you apply heat to solder. Here is an example of when to order a harder sheet: Let’s say all I’m doing is sawing out a design and cold connecting it, a harder option gives strength to my piece, and that strength will be maintained since I’m not soldering.
So with those options in mind, here are a few questions you can ask yourself when designing your project and selecting the sheet: Is the project I’m making going to get a lot of wear and tear (like a ring or a bracelet?) If the answer is yes, sterling is your best choice (since fine silver is softer). Next you need to choose a gauge heavy enough to experience the wear and tear but light enough to be comfortably. Heavy earrings for example can be uncomfortable and a while delicate ring can be cute it can also get squished. Maybe you are making a bunch of bezels and using simple backplates 20g (.81mm) would likely save you a little money but still be strong enough!
When it comes to ordering metal for jewelry making all the different options can often become overwhelming. There are so many varieties of sheet metals, wires and decorative metals. So I partnered with Rio Grande to provide a guide with some helpful tips and considerations for confidently buying materials for your next project!
Wire is going to be your next most commonly used form of silver in jewelry making and thankfully it is not as much of an investment to purchase different gauges because you can buy a single foot of wire pretty inexpensively. Wire can be commonly found in even more gauges 0 (8.26mm) - 32 (.2mm). Wire is used in so many different ways you will want to consider once again: what kind of project am I making? Where on the body will it be worn? If we use the image of rings as an example we can see that the 10g (2.5mm) wire will provide us with more strength than the 14g (1.6mm). It is probably that a 14g ring like this in sterling silver would become mishappen in no time at all, but it could make a beautiful hoop earring! So choosing the gauge wire you will need for a project definitely depends on the amount of wear and tear (for example bangles and rings gets more wear and tear than earrings and pendants).
For earring posts and French wires I have found that 20g (0.80mm) is good for most customers. The hardness of the wire you choose is once again all about application, if you are soldering the wire it becomes annealed, but if you are making an earring wire which will simply be formed and cold connected, you could in this case benefit from working with half-hard or hard since it will maintain that hardness and give the earring wire strength! You can also use hard wire for wrapping wire or creating rivets.
I wanted to include an image of half round wire as well because it is extremely popular, and if you order it based off of what you know about round wire you might end up with wire a bit thinner than you expected! Half-round has a flat side and a round sound making it a great option for ring bands and cuffs! The gauge is determined by the thickest part of the wire, but because it doesn't have this thickness throughout it is a daintier wire! So personally I would purchase 8g or thicker for a ring and I'd experiement with gauges 0-4 for cuffs! You want those to be sturdy!
One of the most common questions is: what gauge bezel wire should I purchase? It typically comes in gauges 24 (.51mm) - 30 (.25mm) and in various heights. First, let’s focus on gauge. If you are newer to bezel setting, consider 28g-30g because it’s easier to push over, especially if you’re doing it all by hand using a bezel rocker tool and a burnisher. You might even consider a fine silver bezel because it will push over more easily. If you’re hammer setting, either with a hammer hand piece or manually, you can use a thicker gauge bezel wire.
Next, consider the stone you plan to set and look up the stone’s hardness (MOH scale). If the stone is delicate you should set by hand (as opposed to hammer) and therefore can use a thinner gauge (28-30g). Softer stones can be set with thicker bezels but this takes some practice, when I was starting out I accidently hammered many an opal!
Regarding bezel height, take the shape and height of your cabochon into consideration. Order a few heights of bezel wire so you have options, if it’s too tall you can always trim it down or sand it. If you like to use a variety of cabochons in your work you’ll find having a variety of bezel wire on hand very helpful. In my book I dedicated an entire section to choosing the right bezel height and other bezel setting tips!
There are tons of gallery wires, decorative bezels and patterned wire options available to purchase. With the knowledge you now how you can look at the listing and see how thick these items are, how tall they are if you are using them to set a stone. Whether they are a good choice for your design. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, you are drawn to a wire and you buy it and figure out a design later and that’s okay!
Gallery wires should be annealed (carefully) prior to forming due to how they are produced they can be a bit brittle when you form them, same is true of some of the beaded wires! You want to form all of these gently and be careful not to mar your metal! I know melting is definitely an issue many beginners experience so when you work with decorative wires be gently with your heat. Directing your flame from below instead of putting the flame directly onto the decorative wire can help prevent melting.
You can find jewelry making materials form the following retailers:
HALSTEAD BEAD
STULLER
RIO GRANDE
If you are interested in learning more definitely check out my book Metalsmith Society’s Guide To Jewelry Making. It covers all the tools you need to get started making jewelry, safety, all the basic techniques and includes ten simple projects to get you going! I have a shopping list for each project so if you are lookinh for a basic project to get started grab a copy of my book today!
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