Laboratory Glass Dishes

Laboratory glass dishes include watch glasses, glass petri dishes, evaporating dishes, and crystallisation dishes used in microbiology, chemistry, and biological sciences. Our range covers all standard glass dish types used in school labs, university teaching, and professional laboratory work across South Africa.

Glass dishes are preferred over plastic in applications involving solvents, high temperatures, or processes requiring chemical inertness. Watch glasses are used for weighing, evaporation, and as a cover for beakers, while glass petri dishes are autoclavable for sterile culture work.

SmartLabs supplies laboratory glass dishes to schools and labs across South Africa. Browse our range for durable, clear glassware with fast nationwide delivery from Boksburg.

What is a laboratory glass dish?

Laboratory glass dishes are shallow, open vessels designed for a range of bench-top tasks including microbiology, evaporation, weighing, covering, and crystal growth. Unlike beakers and flasks, dishes are not designed for heating under pressure or for volumetric work.

The most common types are Petri dishes, evaporating dishes, watch glasses, and crystallisation dishes. All SmartLabs glass dishes are made from borosilicate glass 3.3, suitable for direct flame heating, autoclave sterilisation, and chemical resistance.

Common uses of laboratory glass dishes in the lab

From plating bacteria to growing crystals, glass dishes are versatile open vessels used across every discipline of laboratory science.

  • Microbiology and cell culture

    Petri dishes hold nutrient agar for growing and observing bacterial and fungal cultures. The close-fitting lid allows gas exchange while reducing contamination. Glass Petri dishes can be sterilised by autoclaving or dry heat, making them reusable.

  • Evaporation and concentration

    Evaporating dishes are heated with a Bunsen burner to concentrate solutions or drive off solvents. Their hemispherical shape and wide mouth allow even evaporation to dryness for salt or mineral recovery.

  • Weighing and covering

    Watch glasses serve as a flat weighing surface for small quantities of solids, a cover to reduce evaporation from open beakers, and a surface for spot tests. Their concave shape keeps powders in the centre.

  • Crystal growth

    Crystallisation dishes hold supersaturated solutions that cool slowly to encourage large crystal formation. Their wide flat base provides a large nucleation area. Used for recrystallisation purification and preparing salt or mineral specimens.

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