Vereco

About Vereco

Tempered glass started in France in the 1930's with the St-Gobain company. In 1945 they registered the Duralex brand and started producing Duralex tableware. There was a post-war boom period in the 1950's to the 1970's where women, now assigned to kitchen duties, were wanting better designed products that were easier to manage. Tempered glass filled that niche and Duralex expanded into a global market.

At some stage Duralex bought out Vereco, but little is known of Vereco itself or how long Vereco was produced as a brand before it was absorbed into Duralex. Currently the name Vereco is used only in Brazil as an alternative name to the Duralex name. In all other ways, the products are Duralex products. By the 1990's economies had changed and glassware manufacturers everywhere were experiencing hard times. Saint-Gobain sold Duralex, first to an Italian glass manufacturer and then it was sold on again a few times, with no reversal of fortunes.

The company, by 2008, was in crisis and was salvaged by shareholders who invested and modernised to keep this uniquely French company going. Duralex was saved and although they modernised and brought in new designs, they retained many existing lines, the "timeless classics" that have been recognisable for most of the last 70 years.

All this selling and re-selling means that historical records have been lost. There are no catalogues or other materials that can tell us what was manufactured, and when. The best chance for dating products is with published advertisements where the date is apparent, or with anecdotal evidence from someone who got a set of something as a wedding present, and so can recall the date. Vereco is highly likely to be more than 20 years old.

Posted on vintagevereco.com by Christine Kent, 21/12/2014