I registered my china before I got married and received just about all of it. I actually used it all the time for special occasions. That all changed when we got our first microwave. My pattern had a silver rim around the pieces and therefore could not be put into the microwave. Before we had the microwave, it seems that the food was always hot enough, after we got it, the kids wanted to heat their food. Never could figure that one out. By the way, my china is 54 years old.