Retro Le Creuset Dutch Oven Designs That Are Worth A Pretty Penny Today

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Despite all the flashy new gadgets and expensive cookware that comes on the market every year, the only way to really impress a chef or true gourmet is with a vintage, time-tested tool. And long before kitchenware was chosen based on how it looks in 30-second TikTok videos, Le Creuset was making heirloom-quality cookware, many of which are now highly coveted collectibles.

Finding any vintage piece of Le Creuset in the wild, whether you're out thrifting or wandering through an estate sale, is definitely a thrill, especially the Dutch ovens (and yes, you definitely need one). Savvy resellers tend to spot these enameled cast iron pots quickly and understand their value, which means it's a lot less common to score some Le Creuset at thrift-store prices. Still, certain pieces can command serious money on the vintage and antiques market, making it well worth knowing what you're looking at if you stumble upon a promising stash at a yard sale or flea market. Certain pots in discontinued colors, made with older manufacturing techniques, or those from limited production runs are the real moneymakers. 

If luck is on your side, or the flea market gods are smiling (whatever thrifting dogma you observe), you might just uncover a piece worthy of a spot on Antiques Roadshow. Here are six retro Le Creuset Dutch oven designs to keep an eye out for.

First up is the Raymond Loewy Futura Dutch Oven, which was created in the 1950s in collaboration with the famed industrial designer. Unlike the classic round Dutch ovens Le Creuset is known for, this pot has an elongated shape and integrated side handles, which give it a sleek, modernist look. At the moment, the pieces are selling online for anywhere from $85 for a smaller #26 to more than $200 for a larger #29. 

The limited edition soccer ball Dutch oven is a collectible piece created to commemorate the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Shaped just like a soccer ball, it was designed more as a commemorative item or display piece rather than everyday cookware, so it's not really the right choice for, say, roasting a whole chicken. The soccer ball was made in limited quantities only in 1998, so the scarcity certainly drives the price. Most pieces on Etsy and eBay sell for around $200.

Raymond Loewy created multiple designs for Le Creuset, and one of the rarest is the #35 Coquelle. Like the Futura, this Dutch oven has an elongated shape. It has an elegant shell-like design and it's prized by collectors not just as a piece of cookware but also as a design object, as long as you don't mind the $200 to $600 price tag.

If money is no object in your pursuit of cool kitchen objects, consider an Enzo Mari La Mama Dutch oven. Created in the 1970s as a collaboration with Italian designer Enzo Mari, these pots have wide, generous bowls and distinctive handles. If the design looks vaguely familiar, it could be because Julia Child used a red La Mama in her legendary kitchen, and referred to it as her "soup pot." If you have your heart set on one, it's going to cost you around $450.

Completionists are always on the hunt for a vintage size K orange/volcanic Dutch oven. This is one of the largest Dutch oven sizes at Le Creuset to this day, but you can tell that it's a vintage piece because it's classified with the letter K instead of a number, the latter being how the sizes are currently delineated. These pieces have the iconic round Le Creuset look, like the cookware in Ina Garten's kitchen. They can cost as much as $400 to $600 on the secondhand market.

The purple eggplant Dutch oven is one of Le Creuset's more novel designs. It's also one of the most recent retro pieces, having come out in the early 2000s. Even though it's technically just barely vintage at this point (it is thought to have been first made around 2005 or 2006 but there's no official date), it's a high-demand item among collectors, especially the originals. The large model, pictured here, can cost as much as $500 on sites like eBay and Etsy.