Do you have a piece of Pyrex in your kitchen? While modern kitchen appliances like home espresso machines and Kitchen-Aid mixers are having a moment, you’d be hard-pressed to find a kitchen without at least one Pyrex mixing bowl or casserole dish tucked into a cupboard somewhere. Evoking a strong nostalgia with memories of grandma’s table, these glassware pieces have an inherently American identity. Cooks today, young and old, are scouring vintage shops, estate sales, eBay, and thrift stores for a Pyrex score. There are even Pyrex Facebook groups with tens of thousands of members.
The Corning Glass Works Company first introduced Pyrex kitchenware in 1915, but it has taken on a life of its own since then. Today the hunt for Pyrex can fetch prices from $25 up into the hundreds. The rare Turquoise Diamond Pattern produced from 1953 to 1960 regularly brings as much as $600 per piece. Yeah, per piece!
Most other collectible vintage Pyrex items fall somewhere in the $25-$300 range. So, besides the nostalgia, why is vintage Pyrex in so much demand?
Well, one reason is the longevity. That patterned mixing bowl of your mothers or grandmothers can last you an entire lifetime, be handed down to your kid, then last them their entire lifetime, too. According to EatingWell, vintage Pyrex is made from a different material than the new stuff.
So how can you spot the vintage piece? Capitalization. Products stamped with lowercase “pyrex” label are made from soda-lime glass, a type of commercially-produced glass that isn’t as heat resistant as the older formula. It’s less expensive to produce and more easily malleable but doesn’t hold up as well under high temperatures.
Products imprinted with the all-caps “PYREX” are made from borosilicate glass, a boron oxide and silica combo that’s wicked durable and highly heat resistant. Borosilicate was what the Pyrex brand used when it first started selling its products. Under the heat, borosilicate only expands 33% as much as other commercial glasses.
According to the Corning Museum of Glass, what would be released to the public as Pyrex “opal wear” was originally commissioned by the U.S. Army. They asked Corning to make glass dishes durable enough that they could be thrown against the wall without breaking. Alas, Pyrex stopped making its products with borosilicate glass sometime during the late 1970s. If you spot an all-caps “PYREX” etched into that bowl, it’s real vintage and real quality. Did ya know that?
Why are some vintage lovers willing to spend upwards of $500 on a single rare Pyrex dish? The answer is: either you get it or you don’t. 😊 If you don’t, we can’t explain it. Some folks gladly spend money for eclectic homewares for the same reason other folks gladly shell out money for old broken muscle cars to restore, rare magazine issues or discontinued Looney Toon plushies. People like what they like. For others, it’s all about nostalgia. Pyrex released 170 different patterns from 1956 to 1983, each with a fun name like Friendship, Flameglow, Barbed Wire, Flirtation and Floral Bubbles. Some popular patterns include daisies, wheat, constellations, floral borders, and mushrooms. The kitsch is reminiscent of a simpler world and less complicated times — plus, in the case of Pyrex, the product is useful, holds up, and is generally less likely to explode under your broiler.
Pyrex stopped producing its color ware in the mid-1980s, and increased interest from collectors has made vintage pieces harder to find and definitely more expensive. You’ll find vintage and more “modern” pieces of Pyrex sprinkled throughout the Shoppes. Enjoy your hunt!
We Appreciate You,
Bev