The porcelain jacket crown has withstood the test of clinical application for over half a century. When first introduced it was used sparingly because it was considered difficult both to prepare the natural tooth and to follow out the laboratory technique. It is now universally employed. The preparation of the tooth has become comparatively simple since the introduction, some twenty years ago, of the diamond instruments, and more recently, of the high speed technique. The handling of the porcelain in the laboratory was helped many years ago with the advent of the pyrometer. The danger of fracture of the jacket crown has been reduced with better understanding of the required preparation of the tooth. The adoption of the vacuum-fired technique may lead to a further reduction in the percentage of breakage. Undoubtedly, the porcelain jacket has made a valuable contribution toward raising the standard of esthetics in dentistry.