I dropped Fiestaware on the floor every day for one month
I dropped these popular plates on the floor every day for one month and they didn’t get a single chip.
I dropped these popular plates on the floor every day for one month and they didn’t get a single chip.

If there was a gifted school program for destruction, our son would graduate at the top of his class. Breaking things is his superpower so, when I was approached to test the durability of the legendary Fiestaware dinnerware set, it was clear that I had a secret weapon in our seven-year-old Tasmanian devil. It’s both impressive and astonishing how quickly he can destroy “durable” objects with aplomb. When I told him I was testing plates, he was eager to help.

I was not surprised when, within five minutes of receiving our Fiestaware set, he tipped over the freshly opened box on our hardwood floor. Game on, Fiestaware. Game on.

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What is Fiestaware

We love the vibrant colors and art-deco styling of these dinnerware pieces.
We love the vibrant colors and art-deco styling of these dinnerware pieces.

American-manufactured in West Virginia since its 1936 inception, Fiestaware has gained a cult following over the past 85 years. In fact, it has been dubbed the “most collected brand of china in the United States.” Collectors obsessed with finding pre-1973 Fiestaware are willing to pay top dollar for vintage pieces in discontinued colors and styles.

The company took a 12-year hiatus from production in the ’70s and early ’80s, but when they realized how enthusiastic the following was for their durable and colorful pieces, production geared up again in 1985 and the popularity of Fiestaware soared once again.

I grew up in a Corelle household without any real experience with Fiestaware. Recently, though, our decade-old tableware has started to show its age. As we begin to look at having our son help out with chores that involve setting the table and loading the dishwasher, we realized that we should start looking into a more durable daily set.

What we ordered

We had mixed feelings about the set we tried.
We had mixed feelings about the set we tried.

We decided to check out the 4-piece place setting in cobalt, the 64-oz pedestal bowl in turquoise, and the mini disk pitcher in mulberry.

All arrived in vibrant, saturated colors that practically beg for you to fill them with rainbow-colored meals and farmer’s market-fresh vegetables.

The 4-piece place setting comes with a 10.5-inch dinner plate, a 7.25-inch salad plate, a 19-ounce medium bowl, and a 10-ounce mug. The place setting, like the 64-oz bowl and mini pitcher, are all dishwasher, oven, and microwave safe, and they all come with an impressive 5-year warranty against chips. That warranty seemed pretty bold considering how these pieces tend to be favorites of families, so my son and I attempted to inflict 5 years of wear and tear on these pieces over a one-month period.

What I like

Even Ore-Ida freezer fries look more delicious when presented in the Fiestaware pedestal bowl.
Even Ore-Ida freezer fries look more delicious when presented in the Fiestaware pedestal bowl.

There’s a reason why these plates have garnered near-obsessive love for almost 90 years: They are darn pretty. The colors are not only stunning, they’re joy inducing—these pieces are fun and festive and beautifully designed. I wanted to take photos of my meals by virtue of having these plates and bowls in my possession. I didn’t because I don’t actually like to cook—but if I did like to cook my Instagram feed would have been full.