Riviera Dinnerware | Homer Laughlin China
Our Homer Laughlin Riviera line brings Art Deco elegance to everyday dining with its signature solid-color glazes and streamlined forms. Introduced in 1938, Riviera became an instant American classic, pairing vivid hues — mauve blue, red, yellow, light green, ivory — with a distinctive stepped ring design on plates and saucers.
Every piece is crafted in our West Virginia pottery, using the same lead-free glazing and high-fire process that made Riviera a staple in mid-century American homes. The collection includes dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, cups, saucers, serving platters, and specialty pieces like sugar bowls and butter dishes. We've reissued Riviera in both original and new colorways, so you can build a service that honors the pattern's heritage or mix vintage and contemporary hues for a table that's entirely your own.
Riviera collection details
Design & Form — Art Deco Geometry
Riviera’s defining feature is the concentric stepped ring embossed on every plate and saucer — a motif borrowed straight from 1930s industrial design and streamline moderne architecture. Unlike our floral-transfer china patterns, Riviera lets color and geometry do all the talking.
The plates stack beautifully, and the raised rings catch light in a way that changes with the glaze color. Mauve blue looks almost lavender under warm incandescent light; red reads as a true Chinese red in daylight. Each hue was formulated to contrast with white tablecloths and natural wood, the dominant materials in American dining rooms when Riviera debuted. The teacup handles are pulled with a gentle arc — no sharp angles — and the finials on sugar bowls and butter dishes echo the stepped motif at a smaller scale.
Materials & Manufacturing — Vitrified China
We fire Riviera at cone 6, the same temperature used for our institutional ware. That gives the body a low-porosity, high-impact resistance — important for a pattern designed to be used daily, not displayed. The glaze formula is lead-free and fully vitrified, meaning it fuses to the clay body at the molecular level during firing.
Color consistency is maintained through batch testing. Each kiln load includes a test tile that’s measured with a spectrophotometer before the production pieces leave the plant. If a batch drifts outside the target delta-E, it’s reglazed. That’s why a mauve blue dinner plate purchased today will match one made in 1998 or 1938 — assuming both are original Homer Laughlin stock.
What's Included & Piece Selection
Riviera is sold by the piece and by starter sets. A four-piece place setting includes one 10-inch dinner plate, one 7-inch salad plate, one 5½-inch fruit bowl, and one teacup with saucer. A five-piece setting adds a 9-inch luncheon plate.
Serving pieces include 11½-inch oval platters, 9-inch nappies (serving bowls), covered casseroles, and the iconic juice tumbler — a straight-sided 5-ounce cup originally designed for breakfast juice service. We also offer the sauce boat, covered butter dish, cream pitcher, and sugar bowl with lid. Specialty pieces like the teapot and demitasse set are produced in limited runs and sell out quickly.
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Questions About Riviera Dinnerware
Yes. We manufacture Riviera at our pottery in Newell, West Virginia — the same facility that's been producing dinnerware since 1873. Every piece is glazed, fired, and inspected in-house before it ships.
Absolutely. Our reissue glazes are formulated to match the original 1938 colors within a tight tolerance. Mauve blue, red, yellow, light green, and ivory from our current production will coordinate with vintage pieces in the same hue. The only visual difference is the backstamp.
Mauve blue and red are our top sellers, followed closely by turquoise and yellow. Light green and ivory tend to be chosen by collectors completing vintage sets or seeking a softer palette. Cobalt blue and persimmon are specialty colors that we produce in smaller batches.
Yes, up to 400°F. You can warm plates in the oven or bake casseroles in Riviera nappies and bakers. Avoid direct stovetop heat and broiler use, which can cause thermal shock and cracking. Always place hot dishes on trivets or pot holders, never directly on cold countertops.
Check the backstamp on the bottom of the piece. Original 1938–1950 Riviera is marked "HLC USA" with a date code. Post-1986 reissues say "Homer Laughlin China Co." in full text along with a month and year code. Both are genuine Homer Laughlin — the date code simply tells you the production era.
Yes. Riviera's solid-color glazes contain no metallic elements and are safe for microwave use. Heat distributes evenly across the plate, so food warms without hot spots. If you have a specialty piece with metallic trim or gilding, skip the microwave for that item.
Both are solid-color patterns from Homer Laughlin, but Riviera features Art Deco stepped rings on flatware and a more streamlined form language. Fiesta has concentric circles and a wider range of shapes and colors. Riviera was originally sold at lower price points and marketed as an everyday pattern, while Fiesta was positioned as a premium line. Today both are priced similarly and equally collectible.