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The company's history is interesting because in France almost the same thing happened with Duralex, which was near bankruptcy but was bought back by the employe

The company's history is interesting because in France almost the same thing happened with Duralex, which was near bankruptcy but was bought back by the employees a few weeks back. And now it's popular again. Until people forget about it and buy cheap stuff again. https://www.glass-international.com/news/duralex-employees-to-takeover-emblematic-glass-manufacturer https://www.glass-international.com/news/duralex-employees-t...

morsch 2y ago
I wonder how Duralex compares to Superfest in terms of durability. Duralex is certainly more durable than regular glass, but I have stopped demoing it because it does break sometimes. Our Duralex glasses are also pretty thick, while the Superfest stuff is rather thin.
- mdasen 2y ago
  They're kinda similar in that they're both tempered glasses - where you create residual compressive stress in the outer part of the glass which makes it stronger. However, there are different ways to temper glass. Superfest (and Gorilla Glass in smartphones) uses an ion-exchange technique where sodium ions on the surface are replaced with larger potassium ions. I'm guessing that Duralex uses a thermal tempering process where the glass is heated very high and then rapidly cooled to temper it, but I don't know. Maybe Duralex also uses an ion-exchange and it just isn't as good as the Superfest process. Even with smartphone screens, newer techniques from Corning have created much stronger screens than we had 10-15 years ago even though they're all using the same basic ion-exchange technique. Personally, I love tempered glass even if it might break. They're a lot less likely to break, they're less dangerous if they do break, and they don't really cost that much more. Maybe you'll pay $3/glass for regular soda-lime glasses and $5-6/glass for nice tempered ones, but I bought my tempered glasses a decade ago and still have all of them, despite having moved 3 times (and my packing technique doesn't involve bubble wrap or anything). Maybe Superfest is better, but for my non-restaurant use, tempered glasses like those from Duralex or Bormioli Rocco seem to be good enough.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - starkparker 2y ago
    > I'm guessing that Duralex uses a thermal tempering process Yes: https://eu.duralex.com/en/pages/le-verre-duralex https://eu.duralex.com/en/pages/le-verre-duralex
consp 2y ago
> Until people forget about it and buy cheap stuff again. Until they cut themselves on the sharp edges when it breaks. Duralex is safety glass but some people only see "wow many peaces normal glass only breaks into a few". Proper cuts from Duralex look like you had a hard fall, proper cuts from normal glass require a trip to the hospital for stitches.
khaki54 2y ago
Yes Duralex is pretty sweet. They are thicker than normal glasses too. At home went from breaking / chipping a glass a week to maybe 3-4 a year. I have seen Duralex bounce off the tile unscathed many times.
- MaxikCZ 2y ago
  How are you guys living? I dont use any fancy glassware and I break/chip a glass like once in a decade..
  - vondur 2y ago
    Maybe they have hearty toasting of drinks frequently?
  - brewdad 2y ago
    Taking "Let me just toss these dishes in the dishwasher real quick" literally.
    - alwa 2y ago
      I was astonished when I witnessed an acquaintance cycle his dishwasher. He would throw the clean ones out of the dishwasher onto the stone counter, getting air and a loud crashing sound out of each plate and glass, before doing it again into the cabinets. The dirties would rebound off the flexible plastic of the dish rack and smash into one another as he’d throw them in. This same acquaintance was surprised to learn that my household doesn’t consume an entire roll of toilet paper each and every day. Amazing what we take for granted about others’ basic habits of living, in life as in tech…
      - mrexroad 2y ago
        I’d hate to see how their knives are washed
        kmacdough 2y ago
freeqaz 2y ago
Is there a link to buy any of their glass?
- wiether 2y ago
  Their webshop is here : https://www.duralex.com/ https://www.duralex.com/ There is regional versions depending on where you are located at, available at the top right!
duckmysick 2y ago
Form what I've seen Duralex glasses are (and have been for some time) quite popular in restaurants/food joints.
- rx_tx 2y ago
  I tend to find large "Gigogne" Duralex mixing bowls often in Goodwill/second hand stores in the Bay Area, and I can't resist getting them. They're truly versatile and very sturdy, and they stack very well without getting jammed.
- GuB-42 2y ago
  They have been particularly popular in French school canteens, which make it a childhood memory for many. I am sure that this nostalgic aspect helped with its renewed popularity. One notable feature of Duralex glasses is that there is a number on the bottom that can go from 1 to 50. A tradition among schoolchildren is to look at that number, which is said to represent your age. In reality, it is the mold number, used for quality control, but that "age" thing is what most people remember it for.
  - skywal_l 2y ago
    Funny little video (in french) on Duralex made by Karambolage (years ago): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9T7JCCDeCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9T7JCCDeCE
garaetjjte 2y ago
I have seen Arcoroc glassware, I guess it's similar? Normally they break into a million pieces, but one plate failed spontaneously with hole falling out the bottom... I think it must have been overheated earlier.
AceJohnny2 2y ago
Anecdotally, years ago, it was easier for me to buy Duralex glasses in fancy West Coast US shops (Sur La Table) than anywhere in France. That said, in France they had a connotation of being cafeteria glasses, so perhaps that affected their perceived worth.
Daub 2y ago
A similar thing happened in ancient china. Oven proof ceramic was invented but suppressed in order to protect existing industry.
dyauspitr 2y ago
Love my duralex picardies. Beautiful, solid glasses.
Doxin 2y ago
I can only heartily recommend duralex. They were the only brand of drinking glasses that'd survive any appreciable amount of time growing up. I've only seen one break once, but I've seen them bounce plenty of times.
gniv 2y ago
I had no idea Duralex glasses are special. I bought some from Carrefour because I liked the shape and they were cheap (1€ per glass iirc).
namlem 2y ago
Yeah was gonna come in to say French duralex glasses are extremely durable. Though they are thicker than these German ones I think.

morsch 2y ago

I wonder how Duralex compares to Superfest in terms of durability. Duralex is certainly more durable than regular glass, but I have stopped demoing it because it does break sometimes. Our Duralex glasses are also pretty thick, while the Superfest stuff is rather thin.

mdasen 2y ago
They're kinda similar in that they're both tempered glasses - where you create residual compressive stress in the outer part of the glass which makes it stronger. However, there are different ways to temper glass. Superfest (and Gorilla Glass in smartphones) uses an ion-exchange technique where sodium ions on the surface are replaced with larger potassium ions. I'm guessing that Duralex uses a thermal tempering process where the glass is heated very high and then rapidly cooled to temper it, but I don't know. Maybe Duralex also uses an ion-exchange and it just isn't as good as the Superfest process. Even with smartphone screens, newer techniques from Corning have created much stronger screens than we had 10-15 years ago even though they're all using the same basic ion-exchange technique. Personally, I love tempered glass even if it might break. They're a lot less likely to break, they're less dangerous if they do break, and they don't really cost that much more. Maybe you'll pay $3/glass for regular soda-lime glasses and $5-6/glass for nice tempered ones, but I bought my tempered glasses a decade ago and still have all of them, despite having moved 3 times (and my packing technique doesn't involve bubble wrap or anything). Maybe Superfest is better, but for my non-restaurant use, tempered glasses like those from Duralex or Bormioli Rocco seem to be good enough.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- starkparker 2y ago
  > I'm guessing that Duralex uses a thermal tempering process Yes: https://eu.duralex.com/en/pages/le-verre-duralex https://eu.duralex.com/en/pages/le-verre-duralex

consp 2y ago

> Until people forget about it and buy cheap stuff again. Until they cut themselves on the sharp edges when it breaks. Duralex is safety glass but some people only see "wow many peaces normal glass only breaks into a few". Proper cuts from Duralex look like you had a hard fall, proper cuts from normal glass require a trip to the hospital for stitches.

khaki54 2y ago

Yes Duralex is pretty sweet. They are thicker than normal glasses too. At home went from breaking / chipping a glass a week to maybe 3-4 a year. I have seen Duralex bounce off the tile unscathed many times.

MaxikCZ 2y ago
How are you guys living? I dont use any fancy glassware and I break/chip a glass like once in a decade..
- vondur 2y ago
  Maybe they have hearty toasting of drinks frequently?
- brewdad 2y ago
  Taking "Let me just toss these dishes in the dishwasher real quick" literally.
  - alwa 2y ago
    I was astonished when I witnessed an acquaintance cycle his dishwasher. He would throw the clean ones out of the dishwasher onto the stone counter, getting air and a loud crashing sound out of each plate and glass, before doing it again into the cabinets. The dirties would rebound off the flexible plastic of the dish rack and smash into one another as he’d throw them in. This same acquaintance was surprised to learn that my household doesn’t consume an entire roll of toilet paper each and every day. Amazing what we take for granted about others’ basic habits of living, in life as in tech…
    - mrexroad 2y ago
      I’d hate to see how their knives are washed
      - kmacdough 2y ago

freeqaz 2y ago

Is there a link to buy any of their glass?

wiether 2y ago
Their webshop is here : https://www.duralex.com/ https://www.duralex.com/ There is regional versions depending on where you are located at, available at the top right!

duckmysick 2y ago

Form what I've seen Duralex glasses are (and have been for some time) quite popular in restaurants/food joints.

rx_tx 2y ago
I tend to find large "Gigogne" Duralex mixing bowls often in Goodwill/second hand stores in the Bay Area, and I can't resist getting them. They're truly versatile and very sturdy, and they stack very well without getting jammed.
GuB-42 2y ago
They have been particularly popular in French school canteens, which make it a childhood memory for many. I am sure that this nostalgic aspect helped with its renewed popularity. One notable feature of Duralex glasses is that there is a number on the bottom that can go from 1 to 50. A tradition among schoolchildren is to look at that number, which is said to represent your age. In reality, it is the mold number, used for quality control, but that "age" thing is what most people remember it for.
- skywal_l 2y ago
  Funny little video (in french) on Duralex made by Karambolage (years ago): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9T7JCCDeCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9T7JCCDeCE

garaetjjte 2y ago

I have seen Arcoroc glassware, I guess it's similar? Normally they break into a million pieces, but one plate failed spontaneously with hole falling out the bottom... I think it must have been overheated earlier.

AceJohnny2 2y ago

Anecdotally, years ago, it was easier for me to buy Duralex glasses in fancy West Coast US shops (Sur La Table) than anywhere in France. That said, in France they had a connotation of being cafeteria glasses, so perhaps that affected their perceived worth.

Daub 2y ago

A similar thing happened in ancient china. Oven proof ceramic was invented but suppressed in order to protect existing industry.

dyauspitr 2y ago

Love my duralex picardies. Beautiful, solid glasses.

Doxin 2y ago

I can only heartily recommend duralex. They were the only brand of drinking glasses that'd survive any appreciable amount of time growing up. I've only seen one break once, but I've seen them bounce plenty of times.

gniv 2y ago

I had no idea Duralex glasses are special. I bought some from Carrefour because I liked the shape and they were cheap (1€ per glass iirc).

namlem 2y ago

Yeah was gonna come in to say French duralex glasses are extremely durable. Though they are thicker than these German ones I think.