The Rare, Vintage Pyrex Pattern Collectors Still Hunt For At Thrift Stores

Finding vintage Pyrex at a thrift store is always exciting, but one elusive pattern has become legendary among collectors. Known as Blue Dianthus, this delicate blue floral design appeared on  opal Pyrex during the early 1960s, yet so few examples have surfaced. Information on Blue Dianthus doesn't appear in the one of the most trusted Pyrex information sources, the Corning Museum of Glass' Pyrex Pattern Library, because the museum doesn't have one in its collection. Until 2014, little was known about this elusive piece until Pyrex fanatics cracked the code. Now that the pattern's origin is unveiled, many a collector will scour the shelves looking for this valuable vintage Pyrex print.

Pyrex produced more than 170 patterns, but Blue Dianthus is different than the others. The pattern features a print of a dianthus flower in white on blue or blue on white, and never had a full production run. After years of fan speculation, what collectors know today comes from the discovery of an original shipping carton with a 1963 three-piece Pyrex casserole set identifying the pattern by name with the marking "Sales Test." The box came from a longtime Corning employee's estate and suggests it was produced as a limited test-market design rather than a full nationwide release.

Because Blue Dianthus appears so infrequently, there isn't a standard market price, but when examples do come up for sale, collectors often compete aggressively to add them to their collections. Prices at past sales have ranged from $800 to nearly $3,000 dollars.

Blue Dianthus features clusters of medium-blue flowers connected by delicate vines printed on classic white Pyrex glass. There are also some examples of white flowers on blue glass. At first glance, the understated floral pattern can resemble other vintage kitchenware, so it's worth turning the piece over to confirm it bears an authentic Pyrex mark on the bottom. Since an unknown number of pieces are known to exist, collectors recommend examining any unfamiliar blue floral Pyrex carefully before passing it by. 

If you're hunting for the elusive Blue Dianthus pattern, there are some notable variations you should keep in mind to find this valuable vintage Pyrex piece. The Cinderella Mixing Bowls (440 Series), is a four-piece nesting set including models 441, 442, 443, and 444. The smallest and two largest bowls feature Blue Dianthus' signature light blue floral vines on a white background, while the second bowl reverses the design with white flowers on a blue background. The three-piece casserole set, consisting of models 473, 474, and 475, showcases the classic Blue Dianthus pattern of delicate light blue floral vines printed on white opal Pyrex glass. Whether there are more out there is anyone's guess, but it doesn't stop eager Pyrex fans from trying to locate their Pyrex " great white (or blue!) whale."