Elements 16-Piece Stoneware Dinnerware Set

After 7 years of the same dishes we decided it was time to invest in something new. We are a young, casual couple and do not even own a formal dining table so grandmas China was not an option. We eat an eclectic variety of foods, so its important that out plates can accommodate mounds of spaghetti and meatballs, Sushi, Thai, Ribeye and NY strips etc. Also these foods cant clash with the plates ad make the food unattractive. This is a great neural set that so far has gone well will everything. What is hard to see from the photos is the details between the dark brown and beige, its very nice, unique and appears hand done (not sure that it is, but looks that way). Also the plates have a great lip on them. This keeps your food on the plate and assists in getting some of the more slippery food on your fork. The dinner plates are large, thick and feel very sturdy in the hand. They have a great weight and feel to them, far better then the cheap dinnerware I usually buy. The coffee mugs are nice and deep, unlike ones that I have gotten in the past, these can actually be used for coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The bowls are great as well, a very nice size, not to big not to small. Overall we are very satisfied with everything. One thing that I will point out is each piece had a SKU sticker with the worlds "Made in China" on the back. I found it very hard, if not down right impossible to remove these as they would tear while trying to peel them. I decided to leave on the remaining stickers and run the set through the dishwasher to loosen them up. That helped a little but still left much of it on. Eventually they peeled off on their own but I found a bunch clogging the Dishwashers drain. WHen I removed them they were still very very sticky, even thought wet! Anyhow, just and FYI. If these are the colors you like, get the plates, they are great. I didn't give it an overall of 5 stars because I believe no product is perfect, nothing particularly against the plates.