ALL ABOUT CONDITION

Condition is a very important aspect of your Portmeirion purchase. Many casual sellers describe that something is in 'good condition' or 'excellent used condition' or even 'mint condition' when it is not. On items selling for top dollar, flaws like cuts in a transfer or stain from weak glaze or dirty crazing can cause an expensive dish to be worthless.

The photos you see are of the actual item unless it is virtually identical to a past set of photos of another item.

Since we sell mostly retired pieces, it is very likely that it has been used. We want you to know we inspect every item under two different types of lights - one is best to see crazing, dull glaze, etc. and another is best to see small chips and silver lines. In addition, any piece older than 1980 (2nd Trophy ID and older) or so is soaked in water for 10 to 15 minutes causing hard to see crazing or glaze pops to appear. We also soak all hollow items like canisters and mugs because glaze pops are very common on inside edges.

We fully describe every man made flaw we see in detail in the condition table. Many are very minor and when we state that a flaw is minor or common, it really is. Many Portmeirion pieces have little glaze bumps, skewed transfers on round items, etc. We also describe those if they are more pronounced than usual.

Here are a few specific issues to look for when making a substantial investment in a Portmeirion item.

CRAZING - Most older pieces have crazing. For food service, we use dishes with crazing only with dry foods. On decorative or display type items, as long as crazing is 'clean' we do not feel that it is all that important but care must be used to avoid contact with constant moisture. Plant pots and vases should probably use a liner. Crazing can also be 'dirty' or off color. Unless a piece a fairly rare or there is just a tad bit of off color, we do not sell pieces with any off color lines.

STAINS - Very common on pieces that are well used. Unless something is VERY rare, we do not sell anything with stains. We never attempt to clean a piece with bleach or any other chemical. For the most part, even with small stains, stained items are almost worthless.

MORE 'ISSUE' DESCRIPTIONS COMING VERY SOON!