2. Quality marking by Royal Copenhagen

Avoid being cheated when shopping for Royal Copenhagen porcelain

We check all products and categorize all porcelain so that you can easily see, if it is 1st or 2nd quality, but if you shop privately or in various flea markets, etc., it is probably a good idea to know how to check the quality of Royal Copenhagen Porcelain.

How to easily identify the quality of the porcelain:

You will need a good lamp and let the light reflect in the glaze, where the factory mark is located (typically at the bottom or back), check if you can see a scratch in the waves.​

Royal Copenhagen has marked all their 2nd quality products with a small scratch in the glaze on the factory mark at the bottom of the product (through the Three Waves) - as shown in the picture to the right.

Until 1972, the local hardware store also sold 2nd quality

Until 1972, many hardware stores in Denmark sold annual articles (Christmas plates, annual mugs, Mother's Day plates, etc.) in both 1st and 2nd quality from Royal Copenhagen. But after 1972, the factory discarded most annual articles that did not meet the factory's requirements for 1st quality.

As far as we know, since 1972 it hasonly been possible to buy annual articles in the 2nd quality from Royal Copenhagen's factory outlet on Nordre Fasanvej and Holmegårdsverket in Fensmark. There are therefore not many Royal Copenhagen annual articles in 2nd quality after 1972. - This does not, however, apply to 2nd quality dinnerware, figurines, vases, etc., which have also been available for purchase in other selected stores since 1972.

Employee items ...Since 1972, however, it has been possible for Royal Copenhagen employees to buy, what we call employee items. These items are often marked with two or three scratches in the glaze of the factory mark (through The Three Waves).

This does not mean that the item is 3rd or 4th quality - as some mistakenly thinks. In our experience, the quality of the employees' products corresponds to ordinary 2nd quality (i.e. typically goods with one scratch through the factory mark). Consequently, any small errors are virtually irrelevant to the overall impression.

It doesn't affect the overall impression.

Often, it is quite small things that make Royal Copenhagen choose to sell items as 2nd quality. It can be a small color defect, a black spot, a scratch, or a small mark, etc. - These errors often do not affect the overall impression much, but does affect the price.​

Click here to see the difference between the price of Royal Copenhagen porcelain in 1st and 2nd quality.

TIPS (To see the difference please select List rather than Gallery at the top of the page)

See also:

Delivery terms

There are 2 types of delivery terms:

1. Delivery of items in stock
2. Delivery of customised/special ordered items and items not in stock

Delivery of items in stock

All items currently in stock are items that we currently have stored at our warehouse.

Items in stock are normally shipped immediately (within 1-4 business days). When your payment has been confirmed by us, you will receive an order confirmation.

Should the time of delivery be delayed beyond normal (i.e. orders of large quantity) we will let you know.

Attention! By delivery time we mean the time from the order is confirmed to the order is shipped from DPH Trading. Not the time between the order is made to the time you receive the order.

Delivery of customised/special ordered items and items not in stock

Customised/special ordered items and items not in stock are all items we do not currently store at our warehouse.

We are therefore depending of the various suppliers, dealers and collectors and the time of delivery is only an estimate.

In some situations it can be impossible for DPH Trading to predict the exact time of delivery if the items are specially ordered or customised.

Sometimes the items have to be produced from scratch. If the particular item is of significant age we may have to rely on private collectors who are willing to sell.

All the customised/special ordered items are delivered as close to the agreed delivery date as possible.

DPH Trading could take precautions for the delivery of entire or parts of an order. Part deliveries can occur. We always strive to inform you as quickly and efficiently as possible, should any deliveries change or be divided into separate deliveries.

In extraordinary situations negotiations can be made where the buyer are not responsible for the extra delivery cost in case of part deliveries.

Collect your items at our shop

If you prefer to collect your order at our boutique in Odense, Denmark you very welcome to do so. 

You can see our opening hours and contact information at the page top and bottom.

When you collect you order in person at our shop the freight cost is free. A visit to our store also gives you the opportunity to experience our amazing selection of items on display.