A Review of New Jadite

In the late 1990s, antique dealers were happy when Martha Stewart began featuring pre-1960 jadite in her magazine and television shows. Millions of readers and viewers became interested in the pale green opaque kitchen glass and began driving prices of vintage pieces higher.

Great for the antiques business, right?

Maybe. Until the new demand for jadite brought on a flood of reproductions. New jadite, which first began appearing in Stewart's catalogs and website, was soon available anywhere for purchased and from almost everywhere from Cracker Barrel restaurants and Costco stores to giant discounters like Target and hundreds of web sources.

While many pieces of new jadite are clearly marked and pose no problem for collectors of vintage pieces, other new pieces were made in original molds and can cause confusion.

In this article, jadite is used as a generic term which refers to all pale green opaque glass. Most glass companies sold a line of jadite under their own trade names. Jeannette Glass Co. was the first to officially use Jadite as a line name, spelling it with one `e'. Anchor Hocking called its version Jade-ite, using a hyphen and two `e's. McKee Glass Co. sold the same type of glass under the names Skokie Green and Jade.

Fig. 1 A sample of new jadite kitchen glass. Jadite, an opaque pale green glass, has been popularized by modern decorators such as Martha Stewart and has appeared in many home-related consumer magazines.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Figs. 2-4 Aladdin Mantle Lamp Co. of Clarksville, Tennessee has offered three lamp styles in jadite. A full-size lamp in Lincoln Drape (Fig. 4) and a smooth-sided fount like those used in bracket and hanging lamps (Fig. 2). The Lincoln Drape pattern is also sold as a fount only without the base. The new Aladdin jadite lamps are clearly marked in raised molded letters which includes the year (Fig. 3).

In 1999, Aladdin Industries–the corporate descendent of the original Aladdin lamp company–sold the lamp division to a group of collector-investors. The new company is known as Aladdin Mantle Lamp Co. which continues to sell lamps under the Aladdin name. No vintage Aladdin lamps were ever produced in jadite. The original Aladdin color closest to jadite was known as green Moonstone.

Fig. 5 Two-piece new jadite reamer made in an old Westmoreland mold. An orange is molded on one side; a lemon is molded on the reverse. The original reamer was made in transparent pink, transparent green and clear crystal only. Jadite and all other colors are reproductions. The bottom of the base is marked with the Westmoreland WG. New top rims are also covered with distinctive circular dimples. The surface of old rims is smooth.

Fig. 6 Dimples on the top rim of the new jadite reamer in Fig. 5

Fig. 7 New jadite glass kerosene lamp in Princess Feather pattern. This is a reproduction of a old pattern, but no old Princess Feather pattern lamp was ever made in jadite. New Princess Feather lamp fonts and bases are glued together. Original lamps were joined together while hot. Look for the glue with a black light.

Fig. 8 New jadite glass sold as a miniature water set. The pitcher is a 4-inch creamer; the "tumbler" is a 2¼-inch toothpick holder. Made from original Thousand Eye Westmoreland molds. Introduced in 1934, most vintage Thousand Eye tableware was made in clear crystal. The new jadite pitcher and toothpick holder both have a molded Westmoreland mark with "Westmoreland" surrounding the letter W. Both pieces also have the molded mark of Rosso Wholesale Glass, the letter R in a keystone. Some Rosso marks are very faint and you need to look closely to find them.

Fig. 9 New 7-inch jadite covered dish in Ring and Petal pattern made in 2003. This piece is made in an original Westmoreland mold and both top and bottom are marked with the Westmoreland WG. No authentic green Ring and Petal can be older than 1979 at the most. The only opaque green used by Westmoreland in Ring and Petal was Mint Green which wasn't introduced until 1979. Ring and Petal was produced in other colors since the 1950s.

Fig. 10 New jadite Bottoms Up tumbler and matching coaster. The original was introduced by McKee in jadite and other colors in the 1930s. Original tumblers are marked in molded characters "PAT 77725" above the nude's heels. The new tumbler is not marked. The new coaster is marked Rosso.

Fig. 11 New jadite covered butter dish. No old counterpart to this shape is known in jadite. No mark.

Fig. 12 New jadite Ball and Swirl water pitcher and 5-inch tumbler. This pattern in a water pitcher and tumbler was unknown in jadite until this set was made. Marked Rosso.

New Jade-ite from Anchor Hocking

Anchor Hocking, which made vintage opaque green glass under the trade name Jade-ite, has brought back the color in a new line of kitchen glass.

Fortunately, the new pieces are permanently marked and shouldn't pose a major problem to collectors of the vintage pieces. The new mark includes the date 2000, the first year the new pieces were introduced, and the Anchor Hocking trademark formed with the letter H and an anchor. Marks on some new Jade-ite also include "microwave and dishwasher safe" which never appeared in marks on vintage pieces.

Another important difference between old and new marks is the absence of Made in USA in new marks. New Anchor Hocking Jade-ite is made in China, not the USA. Marks on vintage Jade-ite include Made in USA.

Fig. 13 Molded mark on new Jade-ite includes 2000 and the Anchor Hocking trademark an H and an anchor.

Fig. 14 Molded mark on vintage Jade-ite by Anchor Hocking includes Made in the USA which is missing in new marks.

Fig. 15 New Anchor Hocking Jade-ite 2-quart casserole.

Fig. 16 New Anchor Hocking Jade-ite 10-inch pie plate.

Fig. 17 New Anchor Hocking Jade-ite 9 by 13-inch baking dish.