Vintage Lenox Charleston Pattern China Teacup: 85,000 ppm Lead.
Most people assume that vintage china like this (made by a well known, “reputable” brand name) is safe to eat off of. This is simply not true. Most vintage Lenox china I have tested has been positive for high levels of lead. [Some of the newer Lenox china I have tested has been Lead-free or at least Lead-safe.]
My rating for this china?… Grade: “F”
“F” = I would not want to use it in my home, I would (politely) refuse to drink anything that you served in it in your home. I would advise you to chuck it. Vintage glazed china with high lead levels has often been found to leach unsafe levels of lead into the food being served in/on it. Drinking tea or coffee from this cup would be a definite “no-no” in my book!
To see all the Lenox posts I have up on my site, CLICK HERE.
Note: the amount of lead that is considered safe in an item intended for children is anything below 90 ppm lead, this is far above 90 ppm lead!
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Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Do you know how old that Lenox China was? I have some that I use from the 80s just wondering if it is safe or not. Thanks
Lenox from the 1980s is still really high in lead. (often).
This just goes to show that being made in the USA or any 1st world nation doesn’t guarantee the safety of the ceramic. I don’t trust any ceramic at all the beautiful aesthetics are not worth the trouble and anxiety of determining safety.
I bought two Homer-Laughlin Gothic Mugs for $.50 each at the thrift store and it is labeled as lead free and information about this company says they’re high fired. However I am considering throwing them away anyway as part of adopting a principle of not trusting any ceramic for fear of letting one bad item slip through.
So can we assume that the plates from the set will have high levels of lead? Did you test any Charleston.plates?
I have this same question, because some china plates are less on the interior.
Would there be an exposure / leach concern if a toddler were to just for a few seconds pretend to “sip” from one of these cups? That happened to me recently. My parents have some cups by Royal Elfreda with flower and gold trim. My daughter just pretended to sip from it once and I’m kind of freaking out now whether this is enough to cause concern. No liquids or actual drinking were involved, thankfully…
Read this for context:
https://tamararubin.com/2021/07/im-concerned-that-my-child-may-have-just-inhaled-potentially-leaded-fireworks-fumes-what-should-i-do/
And read this:
https://tamararubin.com/2021/06/but-is-this-dish-or-toy-or-lamp-or-vitamin-or-piece-of-jewelry-or-tibetan-brass-singing-bowl-actually-going-to-poison-me-and-how-would-that-happen-exactly/
And this:
https://tamararubin.com/topics/does-vintage-and-new-functional-pottery-and-dishware-have-unsafe-levels-of-lead/
I would not let my own children use something like that personally – even just for pretend.
Tamara
Did you test a Charleston plate? Is your concern with all types of Charleston usage, or just with liquids (such as hot coffee leaching metals from a coffee cup)? Charleston was our 1980s wedding china; I was shocked to see your post. Also, I have several sets of random dishes & I wonder which lead-testing swab kit you recommend? Thanks!
I later found where you’ve recommended a certain swab, w/caveat that it may not be accurate w/ dishes (but I own several dish sets I’d like to test; hope it’s OK). You’ve really opened my eyes; thanks!!! You’ve also said that lead’s presence doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bioavailable (leaching); can you discuss a bit more? Last, I imagine this quote from another site (herald-mail media) is misinformation: “Since 1971, the FDA established and began enforcing limits on leachable lead in ceramics and tableware. If you purchased your dishes after that and they are made in the USA, they are safe to use.” Yet it seems that’s hardly the case. I’ve searched & been reading your site’s great info; can you elaborate on the (false) idea that post-1971 dishes are OK? Thx again!