INFORMATION ABOUT CORNING VISIONS
- SUPERIOR DURABILITY: One piece construction; handle won't loosen, no seams to hide food. Will not rust, warp, dent, or bend.
- TOTALLY NON-POROUS: Won't stain, retain odors or flavors. Won't leach chemicals into food. Meals remain pure and clean.
- RETAINS HEAT: Food stays warmer longer, great for serving. Use lower temps on stove and in oven.
- THERMAL-SHOCK RESISTANT: Take it straight from the freezer to the stove, then directly to the sink.
- FUNCTIONALLY TRANSPARENT: See what's cooking on the stove or in the oven. Great for cold storage of leftovers.
- EXCEPTIONALLY ATTRACTIVE: as beautiful on the table as it is the stove. Coordinates well with Corning Ware, Pyrex, etc…
- DISHWASHER SAFE: Easy, no fuss clean-up. Won't etch or haze due to detergents.
- REMARKABLY VERSATILE: every piece of Visions is safe for stovetop, oven, broiler, microwave, and freezer / fridge.
What Is VISIONS?
Visions is a brand of innovative glass-ceramic cookware originally created by Corning France. Aside from being notable for its transparent appearance, it is one of the few cookware lines that can be used on the range (gas and electric), in the oven (conventional, convection, and microwave), and under a broiler. It's also great for combination cooking. One piece of Visions can do the work that would typically require numerous pieces of more conventional kitchenware. It's also completely freezer and dishwasher safe. Finally, it is a very healthy choice due to it's non-porous nature. Visions will never stain, harbor odors, or leach anything into your meals.
Released in Europe during the late 1970s and early '80s, it was officially introduced in the United States during the latter-half of 1983 and became the number one selling cookware set for a number of years. It is commonly seen in an amber or cranberry tint. A white variant was sold in some regions as "White Vision". Some model lines feature painted decoration, sculptured bodies, and SilverStone non-stick coating.
Visions has been available non-stop for over 40 years and is currently sold worldwide by Instant Brands.
Released in Europe during the late 1970s and early '80s, it was officially introduced in the United States during the latter-half of 1983 and became the number one selling cookware set for a number of years. It is commonly seen in an amber or cranberry tint. A white variant was sold in some regions as "White Vision". Some model lines feature painted decoration, sculptured bodies, and SilverStone non-stick coating.
Visions has been available non-stop for over 40 years and is currently sold worldwide by Instant Brands.
CALEXIUM: TRANSPARENT PYROCERAM
The proprietary ingredients are mixed and heated to form a special kind of glass melt. The desired shape of the cooking vessel, such as a casserole or saucepan, is then molded from this melted glass mixture. Once formed, the vessel is repeatedly exposed to extreme temperatures and cooled under controlled conditions. This heat treatment makes crystals grow within the glass, turning it into a ceramic and dramatically improving the strength and thermal resistance of the final product.
68.2% is Silica Sand (SiO2)
19.2% is Dialuminum Oxide (Al2O3)
2.8% Lithium Oxide (Li2O)
1.8% Magnesium Oxide (MgO)
1.0% Zinc Oxide (ZnO)
19.2% is Dialuminum Oxide (Al2O3)
2.8% Lithium Oxide (Li2O)
1.8% Magnesium Oxide (MgO)
1.0% Zinc Oxide (ZnO)
0.75% Barium Oxide (BaO)
2.7% Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)
1.75% Zirconium Dioxide (ZrO2)
0.9% Diarsenic Trioxide (As2O3)
2.7% Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)
1.75% Zirconium Dioxide (ZrO2)
0.9% Diarsenic Trioxide (As2O3)
HIDDEN
(For above ingredient list: Generally, this ceramic-glass family is composed approximately, as calculated from precursor glass batches in percent by weight on an oxide basis, of: )
Plus additional oxides and colorants depending on the product line being produced.
The ingredients above are mixed and heated to form a glass melt. The desired shape of the cooking vessel, such as a casserole or saucepan, is then molded from this melted glass. Once formed, the vessel is repeatedly exposed to extreme temperatures and cooled under controlled conditions. This heat treatment makes crystals grow within the glass, turning it into a ceramic and dramatically improving the strength and thermal resistance of the final product.
(For above ingredient list: Generally, this ceramic-glass family is composed approximately, as calculated from precursor glass batches in percent by weight on an oxide basis, of: )
Plus additional oxides and colorants depending on the product line being produced.
The ingredients above are mixed and heated to form a glass melt. The desired shape of the cooking vessel, such as a casserole or saucepan, is then molded from this melted glass. Once formed, the vessel is repeatedly exposed to extreme temperatures and cooled under controlled conditions. This heat treatment makes crystals grow within the glass, turning it into a ceramic and dramatically improving the strength and thermal resistance of the final product.
Thanks to this process, VISIONS not only shares characteristics similar to Corning Ware but also has an improved resistance to staining and the detrimental effects of acids and detergents as an added benefit. It will withstand heat up to 850°C (1,560+ °F) and, due to it's ability to survive a temperature differential well beyond those experienced in a typical kitchen environment, a piece used for food storage in the freezer can be taken directly to stove and then table or sink without worry of shattering. Since the material is completely non-porous, VISIONS will never absorb food, or odors, or leach anything back into your meals. Additionally, transparent Pyroceram is not prone to haze or etching typically experienced with ordinary glass kitchenware so is unharmed by the dishwasher.
HISTORY
In 1963 George Beall, working under Stookey, explored a method for making transparent cookware. However, by 1966 Corning decided against commercializing it for fear that it would cannibalize Pyrex sales.
In 1977, Andre Andrieu and Serge Renault working for Corning France, patented the claim that would form the basis for amber-tinted, transparent "VISION" cookware. It was produced in France and released for the European market in 1979 to instant success.
In 1981, Corning Glass Works began test marketing the cookware in the United States as an imported product under the name “Le CLAIR” due to a trademark conflict over the name "VISION". Once the trademark obstacles were overcome, the product finally received an official rollout in the second half of 1983 under the name “VISIONS”.
Sales spiked during the mid-1980s when Corning released a series of television commercials showing a traditional piece of metal cookware being melted inside a transparent Visions pot, touting the product line as withstanding heat that will "turn ordinary sauce pans into sauce." It would become the number one selling cookware set for the next several years. Due to increased demand, Corning opened additional production lines in the US and Brazil.
In early 1998, "Corning Consumer Products Company" (the consumer subsidiary of Corning, Inc. responsible for Corelle, Corning Ware, Pyrex, Revere, Visions, etc) was spun off, as the parent company refocused on the more profitable industrial business, and then renamed "World Kitchen" in 2000. This deal covered the entire consumer organization with the majority of its offices, factories, employees, and assets related to all brands. The company was renamed yet again in February 2018 to Corelle Brands and then once more to "Instant Brands" a short time later.
The US plant was closed in the 2002, as an apparent cost cutting measure, and the company secured alternative sources of production. ARC International now manufacturers Visions in Arques, France for redistribution by Instant Brands. The Visions Diamond line is made by Narumi in Japan. Visions was temporarily unavailable in the United States from 2004 until 2006 but has otherwise been sold for over 40 years.
In the USA, VISIONS is currently sold via "CorningWare, Corelle, & More" outlet stores and Instant Brands websites. Visions has also remained popular overseas, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where even more custom product lines have been created specifically for that market.
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