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Help with ID for 'flower and bubble' paperweight

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Anonymous:
Gareth, Sue,

Sorry for the lateness in replying - for some reason I wasn't notified of new replies.

Thanks for your input. I'm not a paperweight collecting type either - purely because I know naff all about them, but nonetheless appreciate the skills used to create such wonderful effects.

I must admit I'm very impressed by this particular make and did try searching for them to confirm country of make, but there are so many entries it'll be very difficult to confirm.

David :mrgreen:

KevinH:
Hi folks,

As I said in a thread a while ago in the main Glass messages, Royal Crest is (or was at the time) a name not known to me. I still know almost nothing about this maker / importer / agent or whatever. But I do now know that there are plenty of Royal Crest paperweights offered through eBay and often with many entries submitted by sellers based in the UK.

Most of these weights I have seen via eBay look very much like modern Chinese to me. If that's the case, then perhaps Royal Crest is a company which imports the weights and markets them with their own "design names" as shown on their "certificates" (which simply state "hand made ..." but do not give a source of manufacture). Another possibility is that Royal Crest is a trade name of some company, which again may be importing weights. On the other hand, they may be a company that are producing the weights and the similarity to modern Chinese is just coincidence.

I also know that Royal Crest is a name linked to (and seen stamped on the base of) china dinnerware. Maybe it's the same company and they have added glass paperweights to their range?

KevinH:
Hi again folks,

I received an enquiry about Royal Crest weights through the PCC website and the enquirer has now come back with some information after I suggested they may be importers.

Yes - it seems that in the UK, the import company Lesser & Pavey, based in Dartford, Kent is supplying these from China.

At least, the importer has dealt with various Chinese products for many years, after it became cheaper than sourcing from Europe (info from a Google search showing a 2003 news report for "art" goods)

The weights are also apparently stocked in some UK department stores (I don't know which ones though) under a brand called "The Leonardo Collection" - which links in nicely with the importer's address details.

Perhaps the "Royal Crest" certificates that are included in the box (but which give no details of source) are also produced in China on request? Or I suppose they may be inserted later by the importer.

Next questions to ponder - Are "Royal Crest" weights specific to this importer or are they simply regular Chinese production but "branded"? Can the same weights be found in various gift outlets at even cheaper prices than paid on eBay?

BJB:
KevH,

When we went to Skegness last year these weights were being sold in most gift type shops at £4.99 for big ones including box, and £3.99 for the  smaller ones.

Some were really nice but others seemed to be of lesser quality. :?

We had to look at a great many of these as eldest daughter had a boyfriend who collected paperweights, he obviously wasn't keen on these as it ended soon after :wink:

I haven't looked on Ebay to see what they are selling for, as you are well aware that I know next to nothing about them :oops: , but both you and Richard keep me on the straight and narrow. For this I really do thank you :D

Barbara

Leni:
I agree that this weight is probably one sold under the name Royal Crest, although as has been pointed out,  the same or very similar weights are sold under the name Leonardo (and also another, which escapes me at the moment  :?)    

Some are indeed very good, as I said in another thread some time ago, but some are less than carefully finished and would probably have been rejected as 'seconds' by a more up-market company.  Mind you, heresy though it may be, I feel the same about some of the Caithness 'unlimited' weights!

And, it must be said, there is (inevitably, in a hand made product) a degree of variation in even the 'limited edition' weights which makes me for one aware of the need to pick and choose!   For example, I have a Caithness limited edition paperweight entitled 'Rainforest', designed by Helen MacDonald, which I consider to be far and away better quality than several others in the same edition which I have seen since purchasing mine.  The implication is that the quality varies, within given limits of course, in even the top end of the 'gift weight' market!  

I do also have a couple of Royal Crest (or Leonardo  :wink: ) weights in my collection, which I consider to be well made and attractive - more so than some of the mass-produced Caithness offerings!  

I try not to fall into that "Scottish = good quality, Chinese = mass-produced cr*p" mentality!   :twisted:

I wish we could find out exactly who is the 'Chinese' (generic term  :evil: )manufacturer of these rather nice weights we are beginning to see imported!  I do have this 'thing' about importers who don't give credit to the maker, as you may know   :oops:  :roll:

That's enough outta me, I guess   :P

Leni

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