“The glass is so thin!” That’s the first thing you’ll think when you consider American Sweetheart depression glass for durability. The glass is thin, noticably thinner than some patterns such as Georgian by Federal or Mayfair from Hocking. The white monax is thin enough to look translucent blue on the rims.
American Sweetheart Monax 9 3/4 Inch Dinner Plate Border Only
Pink is equally thin, although we don’t see translucent blue! It’s pink all the way.
American Sweetheart Pink Depression Glass Platter
Nicks
Even so American Sweetheart is suprisingly sturdy. I’ve found very few pieces in either color that have chips or cracks. This cup had a miniscule nick on the outside edge of the rim and that’s the only piece of pink I’ve had with any damage.
American Sweetheart Pink Depression Glass Cup
One reason the glass may be more durable than it appears is the styling. MacBeth Evans avoided the sharp inner rims that get nicked on patterns such as Royal Lace, Patrician or Madrid, and the rims and surfaces are rounded.
About the only parts of the pattern that protrude are the little scallops, and in fact I had two monax plates with nicks in the scallops. (Consider I’ve owned well nearly 100 monax plates and handled many more this is a small percentage.) This platter rim shows the scallops which have very gentle curves. The horizontal line is a strawmark.
American Sweetheart Pink Platter
Consider patterns like Waterford (Waffle) or Miss America. These two patterns have smooth bands around the tops or rims, and those bands have sharp edges that are easy to nick.
Miss America Crystal Creamer Shown Nicks on the Band
Also, pieces like the platter shown above are slightly thicker where the rim meets the body; perhaps this adds strength. Overall the combination of rounded surfaces, gentle scallops, no angular joins, no inner rims add up to resiliance and increase durability.
Wear
Of course you can scratch the glass. However, the busy pattern will obscure most wear marks and you are less likely to notice them. This plate is a good example as it has quite a bit of stacking wear. You eye goes right by this.
American Sweetheart Pink Dinner with Wear
One other point is there are no candy jars or lidded pieces of pink American Sweetheart. Lids tend to nick on the edges around the rim and the flange and so do the bases where the lids slide in. It is part of normal wear and tear, and since American Sweetheart doesn’t have these pieces, we also don’t have the nick problem.
Overall I give pink American Sweetheart 10 on the resistant-to-damage score.
Summary
Let’s see:
We gave pink American Sweetheart 10 points for beauty, enjoyability, buyability and durability. The only downside is that there are no decorative accessories to own, no candle holders or candy jars, vases or center handled servers.
This pattern is a winner! If you like pink depression glass, and don’t have your heart set on decorative accessories to match your pattern then consider American Sweetheart. It’s beautiful!