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Post by lagatta on Jun 4, 2010 3:52:17 GMT
It looks like this producer of solid, practical but beautifully-designed French glassware might be up and running again. Bizarre, so many people wanted to buy this product, but the manufacturer had shut down.
http://www.duralex.fr/Duralex-Catalog_2010.pdf
I do want to ask stormporters if this is actually available in shops in France. I'm not really interested in ordering online
By the way, I tried to search for "duralex" and got no hits, though I started a thread on that bfeore.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2010 5:13:02 GMT
No more Duralex in normal shops -- only Arcoroc, the surviving competitor. However, I would be curious to visit a charity shop and see what they have.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 4, 2010 12:30:39 GMT
kerouac, this website under construction is brand new as of 2010; it never turned up in my research before. I have indeed found Duralex glasses at charity shops, church and community associatin bazaars, and yard sales. But this indicates forthcoming availability of the most popular lines.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 4, 2010 15:38:59 GMT
My suggestion would be to find exactly the glasses you want online, complete with the manufacturer's code and a photograph. Print that out and take it the home sections of department stores, to Pier One, to restaurant supply places, etc. Show it to the buyers and ask if they can obtain the product. It would probably be good to have some slips of paper bearing Duralex, name of the glass, and the code to give them And even though you don't want to order online, I'm sending you this link because it's from a source in the US, and because it's showing Duralex, not a look-alike brand. I've already set it to the Canadian page. Just hold it in reserve for a last resort: www.chefscatalog.com/product/25472-Duralex-Picardie-Clear-Tumblers.aspx?sourcecode=AW4PF4070I found that site through this one: www.wishabi.ca/items/3010762-Set-of-18-Duralex-Picardie-PICK1EA25629-canada-prices-dealsAnd maybe you could put this lady on the case. I flicked through her blog and her prices seem quite reasonable. Also, she's a real live person to whom you could actually speak: www.blogger.com/profile/15237422459587167095
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Post by lagatta on Jun 4, 2010 17:48:31 GMT
Unfortunately Chef's catalog only has the larger sizes of Duralex tumblers, and I want the smaller ones (wine/juice/coffee glasses). But those are indeed the real deal. Thanks for the help. We'll get there!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2010 16:05:32 GMT
People are really attached to Duralex, so they should reappear in the stores if things go well. I believe that the current owner of Duralex is Turkish.
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Post by cristina on Jun 7, 2010 1:37:57 GMT
I found Duralex glassware in several styles at World Market today. I bought four 8oz+ glasses in the Picardie style for $2.99 each. They are marked on the bottom with the Duralex logo and include a number. I also saw them at Williams Sonoma, but they were slightly more expensive. World Market had a rather nice selection of styles and sizes, I thought. But what what I was really looking for, Duralex bowls, they did not have.
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Post by imec on Mar 8, 2011 20:03:05 GMT
Weekend score...
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Post by lagatta on Mar 8, 2011 23:51:48 GMT
imec, did you buy those in Winterpeg?
I found the tiny ones (9cl?) in a box like that at a household items shop here, and some of your size loose. I'm back from a work trip to Amsterdam and picked up a dozen of your guys there. Aren't they pleasant to hold? They are actually great for casual serving of wine, beer and even coffee and tea (they are heat resistant).
I bought them at the largest Dutch household stuff chain, HEMA. There is a HEMA in Paris now, by the way. Rue Rambuteau... As well as several bicycle items (lights, bell, carrier bags)...
Cristina, don't worry, the bowls are returning too. I have several of the tiny ones, used for sauces and mixing very small quantities of stuff (mise en place).
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Post by imec on Mar 9, 2011 2:31:31 GMT
Picked them up at THIS shop in Victoria, BC.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 9, 2011 16:02:08 GMT
Imec, what a great store, you must have enjoyed yourself in there! Cheers Mich
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2011 17:51:57 GMT
I still find it so hard to imagine that what was once the most common glass in the world has now become a collector's item.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 9, 2011 20:57:11 GMT
Oh, it will become banal again. I've seen them everywhere in Amsterdam at HEMA and Blokker.
There was an alternative rock evening where I was staying (the kitchen is used for catered events) and there was a whole case of those Duralex glasses, about the same size as imec's. I paid about 65 euro cents for mine there, and about one Canadian dollar here (a trifle more, but not enough to bother bringing them back).
I think the test of their quality is that they are NOT devalued by ubiquity.
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Post by casimira on Apr 20, 2020 12:35:54 GMT
I woke up to a very loud crashing sound early this morning.
It was a Duralex Picardie tumbler that was on my bed stand table.
My cat "Pompeii" in his attempt to awaken me for his breakfast succeeded.
The remnants resembled a shattered car windshield.
I don't think they make them as durable as they used to as the height it fell from was no more than 3 feet.
And, it's not like he hurled it (or maybe he did, I'll never know...and, he isn't saying).
He did however, get my attention.
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Post by breeze on Apr 20, 2020 15:15:48 GMT
casimira, when a cat wants your attention, it's supposed to be immediate. Cats demand prompt service! One of our cats used to knock a book or my eyeglasses to the floor when I didn't wake up at his time. And the sullen look om his face was priceless.
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Post by bjd on Apr 20, 2020 15:21:03 GMT
Casimira, that is normal for those Duralex glasses. That's why I don't like them -- if they fall they shatter into a million small pieces.
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Post by casimira on Apr 20, 2020 15:43:05 GMT
You're absolutely right Breeze!
Normally, he jumps on me. But, as I must have slept through that tactic, he resorted to a more attention demanding measure. From now on I will leave all breakables on the floor.
BJD, at least the pieces are not shards or slivers. More like chunks with no sharp edges
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 20, 2020 16:22:16 GMT
Most Duralex glasses can be dropped on the floor, even if it is concrete, without shattering. But when they do shatter, just like Pyrex and other such types of glass, they disintegrate into countless small pieces just like any tempered glass. That is why they were always the most popular in schools and all sorts of other cafeterias such as company canteens -- because usually they don't break when dropped, but if they do, the pieces are not dangerous to children or adults.
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Post by questa on Apr 21, 2020 1:30:56 GMT
I worked in a 400 bed hospital which had terrazzo floors. All the tumblers were Duralex and, as expected, many fell off bed-tables or dropped onto the floor. Most time they bounced and seemed to gain energy by bouncing higher than you'd be expecting. By the time the tumbler touched the floor again it felt normal. If the tumbler did hit the floor it exploded with a loud bang...far more noise than a china cup produces. The shattered remains would cover a wide area...several metres if not obstructed but, as Kerouac notes, the edges of each piece were crunched into gritty residue with no shards large enough to cut.
These are the sort of things you ponder while trying to stay awake on night duty, and cleaning up another broken glass.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 21, 2020 11:46:49 GMT
Yes, I once broke one I had in the bathroom, where there is a hard tile floor. Since then I've used a metal cup there. Any Livia or I have ever pushed/dropped in the kitchen (some kind of linoleum floor) or in the rest of the flat (hardwood floors) have sustained no damage whatsoever. (Sometimes I think Livia pushes things off deliberately).
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Post by casimira on Apr 21, 2020 12:14:40 GMT
The aforementioned incident was definitely deliberate.
But, as I mentioned, the height that it fell from (2 1/2-3 feet) onto a hardwood floor should not have caused it to shatter.
Which leads me to believe that they are not as durable as they once were.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 23, 2020 1:00:19 GMT
(Sometimes I think Livia pushes things off deliberately).
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Post by whatagain on Apr 23, 2020 9:19:01 GMT
Casimira, that is normal for those Duralex glasses. That's why I don't like them -- if they fall they shatter into a million small pieces. Of course they do. It is tempered glass. As I wrote elsewhere tempered glass is made from glass that is reheated then abruptly cooled. The constraints in the glass from dilatation constriction cannot Express themselves and stay trapped. Basically the glass in the centre still wants to dilate whilst the exterior is already contracting. That makes the glass tougher but. But. When you apply a pressure on a weak spot it releases all the constrains and shatters. Which is the goal : to avoid shards. The caf made it fall in a week spot. I have read somewhere that bottles of beer should have / were to be tempered to avoid transforming them into weapons at football matches...
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Post by questa on Apr 23, 2020 14:10:08 GMT
Oz uses 'paper' cups made from processed bamboo. 100% biodegradable.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 23, 2020 21:10:45 GMT
That is good, questa, but aren't those disposable?
Bixa, that is very much Livia. Fortunately she doesn't do that often.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 23, 2020 21:24:15 GMT
Since the EU banned single use plastic, we no longer have plastic straws, cutlery, plates or cups. It is all either word or paper.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 23, 2020 21:59:13 GMT
I have read somewhere that bottles of beer should have / were to be tempered to avoid transforming them into weapons at football matches... Not everyone here will remember this, but glass pop bottles on the road used to be something to avoid with your car. When broken, that thick bottom was likely to cause a flat tire.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 28, 2021 18:55:54 GMT
Duralex was in trouble again in spite of its worldwide fan club. It has now been bought again, by "International Cookware," otherwise known as Pyrex. Just for the record, the original Pyrex brand created by Corning split into two totally different companies -- one of them covers the United States, South America and Asia while the other one covers Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In any case, all of the jobs for Duralex have been saved, which is good news.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 19, 2021 19:23:45 GMT
I managed to break my last Duralex normal drinking glass a couple of days ago (I knocked it into my stone sink). Today I bought two more at Hema for 1 euro each. Whew!
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Post by whatagain on Feb 20, 2021 17:04:43 GMT
Casimira, that is normal for those Duralex glasses. That's why I don't like them -- if they fall they shatter into a million small pieces. That is the goal. So you don't get cut. They are tempered glass. Meaning you cool down them fast whilst they are actually still trying to expand : center is hot and dilates, external sides are getting very cool and shrink. So you trap constraints into the glass. So they can sustain a lot of weight and force but not some high pressure on a weak spot. And it is exactly the same for rear window glass, that shatters,but not windshields, these are supposed to stay see through in case of impact. Windshields are made of 2 layers of glass and one of plastic - laminated glass. It breaks but stays together, glued on the plastic.
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