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Pyrex Compatibles - Spring Blossom Green (1972)
This line of Pyrex was introduced in 1972 to complement the Corelle pattern first launched in 1970. The original design on the ovenware and nesting bowls includes large blossoms, both solid and outlined, and in particular there is a sideways flower with either 3 or 4 petals. The colour scheme of the complete sets alternates between white on avocado green and avocado green on white. The greatest variety of pieces is available with this original pattern, as it seems it was in the early years that many new shapes and sizes were introduced and then quickly discontinued. All pieces with the original 1972 design were discontinued by 1979, if not earlier.
The pattern was updated in 1979 and the new version features smaller flowers and the inclusion of a stem with 3 leaves and the sideways flower is absent. The new colour scheme on the complete sets alternates between a darker shade of green and lime green with the pattern in white. From 1979 to 1981, its final year, the selection of Spring Blossom Green was limited to nesting bowl sets and 470/480 round casseroles. Corelle in this pattern remained in production for many years afterwards.
401 & 402 with the New 1979 design in lime and dark green and 401 with the Original 1972 design in avocado.
Beginning in 1979 through to 1981 the 474 and 475 casseroles were sold individually with the numbers 484 and 485 respectively on the boxes. Normally when the 474 was sold in a set it was the lighter lime green shade. However, when it was sold singly it was decorated with the darker green colour.
There are two distinct versions of the pattern on the Refrigerator Dish sets. The two designs strongly resemble each other, and it requires a close comparison to see that it is a similar group of flowers in a new arrangement. It is only a subtle difference, and there are no 3 leaf stems involved, and the colour is the same avocado green.
(Photo: 501 & 502 from the Original refrigerator dish set.)
For a very long time it has been wrongly asserted that the 1979 design on the nesting bowls and casseroles was the 'older' one and dated from the 'late 60s'. Unfortunately a popular Pyrex reference book perpetuates this myth and the nickname to go with it, but everything about this commonly held belief is wrong. The official name has always been Spring Blossom Green, and it was introduced in 1972 as an accessory for Corelle.
It is simple to prove that the design with the smaller flowers is undoubtedly the newer one, as the capacity marked on the bottom of these pieces is stated in Metric. A piece of opal Pyrex with Metric on it cannot possibly pre-date another one marked only in pints or quarts. Metric alongside Imperial measures appeared on the backstamps mid 1970s, and a few years later the pieces were marked in Metric only. Once it became apparent that the U.S. would not be converting to the Metric system, the trend reversed, and clear Pyrex made more recently is marked with Imperial and Metric.
Nesting Bowls:
Original Design 1972:
300 Series Round - 401- 403 - avocado, white, avocado
400 Series Round - 401- 404 - avocado, white, avocado, white
440 Series Cinderella - 441 - 444 - white, avocado, white, avocado
New Design 1979:
300 Series Round - 401 - 403 - dark green, lime green, dark green
440 Series Cinderella - 441 - 444 - lime green, dark green, lime green, dark green
Ovenware:
Original Design 1972:
4 Quart Round Casserole - 664 - avocado
Round Cinderella Casseroles (470 Set) - 471 - 473 - avocado, white, avocado
Round Cinderella Casseroles (480 Set) - 473 - 475 - avocado, white, avocado
Oval Casseroles - 943/043, 945/045 (with decorated opal lids, clear lids from 1978 onward)
Divided Dish - 963/063 (dish is avocado with no pattern, decorated opal lid)
Baking Pans - Loaf Pan white, 8x8 Pan white, 9x13 Pan avocado
Refrigerator Dishes - 501 white, 502 avocado, 503 avocado (2 versions)
New Design 1979:
Round Cinderella Casseroles (470 Set) - 471 - 473 - dark green, lime green, dark green
Round Cinderella Casseroles (480 Set) - 473 - 475 - dark green, lime green, dark green
Round Cinderella Casserole (484 or 485 Set) - 474 or 475 - both dark green
Related Articles:
1974 Brochure - 470 sets
1976 catalogue page
1981 Brochure - Pyrex Ware
Why name Pyrex mixing bowls after Cinderella?
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