Flow blue vs regular transferware

I had an epiphany: most transferware that has gilded details seems to be flow blue. Was flow blue somehow more exclusive back in the day compared to regular transferware or was the gilding only a style characteristic / difference?

 

I think that flow blue started out as a technical problem with cobalt color bleeding into the surrounding material during firing. Once they figured out how to stabilize the glaze, the "flow" went away. But I've had pieces dating to the early 1900s that were flow blue, so I think it later became a decor option.

I don't think gilding can be taken as an indication of age.

 

This made me laugh. I remember years ago, when flow blue was still a hot collector item, I bought a whole set at a garage sale for $10. The lady told me it was worthless since the design was so blurry, and she couldn't imagine how they could sell something so screwed up in the first place! LOL