Dear Tuscan Decor Customers:
We have
recently learned that several Chinese manufacturers have shamelessly copied
and knocked off in China, selected Italian ceramics products originally
designed and manufactured by us in our Italian workshops.
Obviously, we feel awful about this, but unfortunately there is nothing we
can do to prevent the Chinese from shipping
these counterfeits back to the United States market.
At the same time, we feel flattered by
the fact that our products have reached such a privileged class valued
enough to be worth of being “copied” and knocked off in such a large scale!
After all this “status” was customarily reserved for prized international
brands such as Gucci®, Luis Vuitton®, Nike® etc….
We have recently had the opportunity to
take a close look at this counterfeited products, and frankly in spite of
the Chinese manufacturer's effort to give them an “Italian” or “Tuscan”
feel, we can definitely assure you that they definitely still look
“Chinese”!
Learn how to identify a knockoff
majolica piece:
Frankly anyone with a little of sense for good quality Italian ceramics will
be able to immediately identify any of these Chinese knockoffs from far
away… In any event here some hints for you:
-
First, the most obvious characteristic of
forgery is within the design of the pattern itself:
Colors are kind of faded, and painting is shoddy (almost childish) to
say the least. Many details are from decals, not hand painted, and
most of them feature the typical Chinese crackle glazing in a subtle tone of
gray.
-
Second, these ceramic products are NOT made
from hand thrown clay like ceramics manufactured in the best Italian
tradition, but are made of white synthetic liquid clay poured into a mold.
The result is a lightweight, paper-thin vessel, with undefined
handles and a surface texture way too smooth to resemble an original
hand-made and hand-thrown clay product.
-
Third, the look of every Chinese made
product is glossy, the colors are flat, and the
appearance is nothing close to the genuine and hand-applied “Old World” look
of an authentic Italian ceramic piece!
Furthermore, remember that EVERY single
genuine product is clearly marked "Made in Italy”. Most of the time,
this marking is under the glaze and therefore indelible.
We just wanted to inform all of our
customers, that it was our decision not to fight the Chinese production of
these knockoffs of our products, as we all know
that China steals everybody's manufacturing, copies products
worldwide, and puts people out of work.
Tracking down the source of fakes is
big business for private detectives in China but few lawsuits are
successful.
We have opted instead to continue concentrating our efforts in further
developing our collections, as well as researching for new and better
products that we can proudly supply to our customers as we have done since
the inception of our company.
We would like to thank
all of you for your appreciation and commitment to high quality and genuine
products.
Sincerely,
Marco Margaritelli, Pres.
