My Noritake Dilemma

Noritake, is a beautiful china. Imported from Japan, it adds class and beauty to any dinner table. This fine china was made in several different patterns. There are books that will help you discover exactly which pattern is which. You can also get help from a company called Replacements Ltd. located in McCleansville, N.C. On the web at www. replacements.com or at 1 800 REPLACE. They are a company set up to help people replace missing pieces of china or flatware. My mother contacted them years ago and the difference between what they will pay for a piece and what they charge for a piece can be considerable. It has to be since they maintain a fairly large inventory of pieces for most patterns. I have been receiving e-mail listings of my two patterns since I inherited my mother's china. You can also check e-bay and craigs list on a regular basis to look for replacement pieces. You can see from the picture that they are both beautiful and both have memories in their own right.

Derwood, the piece on the right was given to my mother one Christmas, by my grandmother, her mother in law. She gave a similar set to her daughter. There is a complete service for twelve. It is elegant, fancy and is the set of dishes that I remember having every holiday meal on as I was growing up. I have significant memories attached to those dishes. My mother kept them in the buffet beside the dining room table. When I was old enough I was allowed to set the table, putting the plates, cups and saucers, on the table, and carrying the serving pieces to the kitchen. Because of these dishes my mother's last cat achieved a sur-name, becoming Clydetta Dishbreaker, when she managed to crawl into the buffet and break the gravy boat with attached underplate. My mother was always going to replace it, but either it was not available, or she forgot. Now that I have the dishes, I could replace it for under fifty dollars, but I have an insulated gravy pitcher that keeps the gravy warm. I remember the gravy boat was small and needed to be refilled at least twice during the dinners. Between that and the fact that we use those dishes very rarely, I am not motivated to replace it.

Azalea, the piece on the right was given to my mother by her mother and sisters for birthdays, Christmas and any other gift giving occasion. When she was growing up their neighbor, a Mrs. Glen Wise, sold Larkin products. The dishes were premiums, given in lots of three. My mother wrote this information on a card, so it is not my faulty memory I am relying on for this information. There is a service for nine with luncheon plates, but no dinner plates and no serving pieces. Luncheon plates, sauce dishes, and cups and saucers worked out perfectly when the ladies that I quilt with came for Christmas. The set has all kinds of exotic pieces like mustard and mayonnaise pots, divided relish trays, toothpick holders and pretty much everything else you could imagine. To get the pieces that are lacking for a complete set would be very pricy and really not something I need.

It is foolish for me to have two sets of Noritake. It is an indulgence. Not only that but there are years when all they do is sit in the china closet, waiting for me to take them out for their yearly wash. I have one son so he will end up with this problem. I love both sets of dishes. I think the Azalea is exquisite and I enjoy looking at it. My memories are tied to the other dishes. I remember family dinners with cousins, uncles and aunts, grandparents and family friends sitting around the table talking and laughing with these dishes. I grew up with them. They are elegant and formal. So I continue to have two sets of Noritake. Periodically I check e-bay for pieces and prices, as well as watching at estate sales, but I am not making a concerted effort, since I can't make up my mind which set to keep. They are both beautiful in their own way. One is like a queen and one is like a ballerina. How do you make that decision?