Many people collect various kinds of kitchenware and this week I thought we'd take a look at the ever-popular Pyrex - mainly because it celebrates its 90th birthday this year.

There's a tremendous amount of Pyrex to choose from (Pyrex has been a household name since it was first marketed and we all grew up with it - and did you know that the famous Pyrex measuring jug is one of the Modern Icons at the Design Museum's permanent collection?) but the pieces collectors are really interested in date from the thirties, forties and fifties.

The Pyrex story began in 1912 when borosilicate glass was first developed to withstand extremely high or low temperatures for use in railroad signal lanterns for the American Railway Company. Purely as an experiment, a research physician asked his wife to bake a cake in an adapted base of a glass lamp. She did, it withstood the heat and the rest is history. Pyrex launched its first product in 1915, a 25cm flan dish.

Over the decades, Pyrex diversified its glassware to incorporate everything from skillets and casseroles to bread pans and refrigerator dishes, literally helping to shape the way people cooked and stored food at home.

And now, all these years later, certain pieces of Pyrex are most definitely collectors' items. Watch out for those early items - it's not that difficult to pick up some vintage Pyrex in good condition because it has always been so durable, even with continued use.

Look after the really old items, though, and don't put them into a dishwasher as high heat and detergents could fade the colours.

Just for the record, for those of you who are collecting the antiques of the future, Pyrex is producing a series of limited edition sets commemorating their most famous glassware products.

Happy shopping!

The next Perry and Phillips auction of antiques and collectables takes place on Tuesday, July 12 at the Mill Street saleroom. Auction valuation mornings are held every Wednesday from 10am until 2pm.