The word “porcelain” covers two very different tiers of hotelware. The word “bone china” covers three. This page sets out which tier LAZZARO is, and the testing behind the claim.
LAZZARO fine bone china is made with more than 45% bone ash — comfortably above the 30% rule that defines bone china in the United Kingdom.
| Material | Body & firing | Vitrification | Translucency | Character | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earthenware | Clay fired at a comparatively low temperature; always glazed to hold liquid | Porous; a chip or craze line exposes it | None | Thick section, soft edge, prone to chipping and staining | Casual and decorative ware |
| Stoneware | Denser clay fired hotter than earthenware | Partially vitrified | None | Heavy in the hand; a chip reveals a porous body | Everyday and rustic tableware |
| Porcelain | High-fired bisque, lower-fired glost | Vitrified | Slight at a thin section | Harder and whiter than stoneware; relatively thick wall | Hotel and general tableware |
| Fine china | A vitrified white body without bone ash | Vitrified | Moderate | Whiter and lighter than porcelain | Mid-market dinnerware |
| New bone china | A bone-ash-free body using alternative fluxes | Vitrified | Moderate | A commercial designation, not a material standard. Not bone china | Volume dinnerware |
| Fine bone china | 45%+ bone ash with kaolin and china stone | Vitrified | High — it glows when held to the light | Roughly half the weight of stoneware at the same diameter, because the body is stronger per millimetre | LAZZARO Professional and Casa |
The premium UK hotelware houses sell this grade under names like “alumina vitrified” and “fine china”. LAZZARO High Performance Porcelain is in that class. The porcelain sold by commodity brands is not.
| Standard hotel porcelain | LAZZARO High Performance Porcelain | |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Feldspathic porcelain | Alumina-reinforced, fully vitrified porcelain |
| Water absorption | Low, but measurable | Zero |
| Edge-chip resistance, ASTM C368 | ≈ 0.07–0.08 lb·ft | 0.18 lb·ft minimum · 0.27 lb·ft mean |
| 10.5" dinner plate weight | Typically 900 g and above | 550 g |
| Edge guarantee | Usually none, or limited | DuraEdge® 5 years |
| Service | Microwave, dishwasher | Microwave, freezer, oven to 350°F, dishwasher, thermal-shock resistant |
A stoneware dinner plate can weigh over 1.2 kg. Fine bone china of the same size sits at 500 to 650 g. That difference is not thinness for its own sake; it is what a stronger body permits.
A vitrified body does not absorb water, so a chipped edge stays inert. A partially vitrified body exposes porous clay the moment the glaze is broken. It is the least glamorous argument in tableware and the one that matters most over ten years of use.
Fine bone china carries the British Standard 5416 mark; vitrified hotelware is tested to BS 4034. Our factories hold ISO 9001:2015 and SEDEX SMETA 4-pillar.
| Parameter | Test & criteria |
|---|---|
| Handle and knob impact resistance | PT32 |
| Thermal shock — boiling water | PT33 |
| Handle and knob temperature | PT35 |
| Freezer to oven safe | PT36 |
| Freezer to microwave safe | PT37 |
| Water absorption | BS:EN 1217 Meth C |
| Lip / rim metal release | ASTM C927-80:2004 |
| Metal release | 2005/31/EC (84/500EEC):2005 |
| Thermal shock endurance | BS:EN 1183:1997 |
| Edge chipping resistance | BS:EN 12980 · ASTM C368-88 |
| Static immersion | EN 12875-4:2006 |
| Microwave | BS:EN 15284:2007 |
“Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.”Aldo Gucci