Pyrex Solid Colors ID Chart

So, you've just found a solid color Pyrex bowl and you're not sure what pattern it goes with. Or you've found that promo casserole you've been wanting, but the dish color just doesn't look quite like the right one. You want to fill that open spot in your collection, but you don't want to waste the money on a mis-match. It can be vexing.

Many pattern collections contained a number of solid-colored bowls or dishes with no applied decoration or for which the decoration was applied only to lids. Also a source of frustration for novice collectors is the fact that there are several pieces of the same shape and size whose shades differ only slightly but belong to different patterns.

The chart below will help you figure out what goes with what. Rather than just tell you that there are, for example, two different blue 401 bowls, it goes a step further to show you a visual representation of the unique shades of each.

Not only is the chart useful to help determine what pattern a particular piece goes with, it can also tell you what it does not. For example, even though the shade of green on the #403 from the Multicolor Set changed slightly over the years, it was never in any way like the medium avocado of the same model Verde bowl, the only other solid green 403. The same is true of the blue #401 from the original Multicolor Bowl Set in relation to its blue cousin from the New Multicolor Set. And, as another example, even though the green of Spring Blossom Green and the medium avocado of Verde are alike, the 063 divided casserole of the former is green while that of the latter is always yellow.

Note that there are a few instances where the same color and size bowl belongs to more than one pattern collection. They are placed adjacent to one another in the chart for clarity.

Remember that, with the exception of some very old pieces, the model numbers and capacities given will appear on the dish itself in the majority of cases, so you will want to verify shape and size before referring to the chart.

The chart colors aren't exact, but they are as close as the RGB-rendered versions of Pantone color chips the shades were chosen from will allow, and should give you better than coin flip odds when you don't have a similar color dish available with which to make a comparison. Color rendition may vary somewhat depending upon device used to view. Blue light filters common on many devices will also have a negative impact.

Solid color identification isn't as difficult as it might seem. In most cases. Of the 110 model/color categories listed, 67 of them have only a single possibility; 28 more only have two. Those most likely to cause frustration when there is no other to compare to are the two yellow 503s (Multicolor Set and Town & Country).

The Multicolor and Horizon Blue 502s often look remarkably similar; they can be differentiated by the Horizon Blue backstamp's inclusion of the capacity.

Note that variations in paint lots caused subtle differences in some shades. Conversely, some pieces that should be different colors can in some cases look remarkably the same. Some blue 401s from the original Multicolor Set, for example, might seem to pass for Horizon Blue, although no solid color 401 was ever offered for the latter's pattern collection.

The solid color dish you found may also have originally come with a decorated lid. Finding the correct one to go with it may prove more difficult and/or costly than you might want. Chart entries marked ⊛ came with decorated or painted lids for all or part of their production period.

Also bear in mind that photographs of actual pieces can often misrepresent their true color significantly. Camera quality, camera flash, and differences in ambient lighting can make a shade of color look very different from how it does in person. Be cautious when viewing photos of pieces for sale online, and don't be quick to make assumptions.

Hint: Enlarge swatches by holding down Ctrl and pressing "+" on your keyboard or by using a spread gesture on your touchscreen. PC users view additional color notes by hovering mouse pointer over swatch.