We all have fond memories of the Ball glass Mason jars. They have soared in popularity with consumers for multiple uses, including using them as drink glasses, jarring homemade sauces and jellies, and using them as flower vases and other Pinterest ideas. I visited a restaurant over the weekend in downtown Detroit and they were using them as water glasses for patrons. I must admit that I currently have one in our bathroom holding our toothbrushes. The Ball Mason jar is having more than its 15 minutes of fame; it’s more like 100 years.

Jarden Home Brands, which holds the license to market Ball® Brand Home Canning Products, celebrates the 100^th anniversary of the “Perfect Mason,” “Perfection,” and “Improved” jars created by the Ball Brothers in 1913-1915 with its Heritage Collection. Manufactured by Ardagh Group (ardaghgroup.com), this limited edition collection features vintage-inspired colors with anniversary and period-correct embossed logos, available in regular mouth pint and wide mouth quart sizes.

Introduced in 1913, the name "Perfect Mason" acknowledged the first-ever self-manufacture of each part of the Ball jar – ensuring a perfect fit and revolutionizing the home canning process by providing matching jars, lids and bands in a single unit.

Why the purple color? Apparently, the orchid glass color of the Heritage Collection has a strong historical association. During the 1880s, consumers began demanding clear glass for their preserving needs. Glass manufacturers responded by adding manganese to batches to decolorize the aqua hue of the glass, a result of naturally-occurring iron deposits in the sand used during the manufacturing process. Over long periods of time, clear jars with added manganese turn various light-to-medium shades of purple, depending on the jar’s exposure to UV rays.

The new collection is already winning over fans of the jar. Jarden Home Brands found that 81% of consumers would use the orchid-colored jars for purposes other than canning, such as preserving local produce, home decor, arts and crafts or collecting. The purple color gives the jar a unique twist on an old classic and will surely expand the many uses people find for the iconic jar.