Is it made in China or Denmark?

The photos below show the Royal Copenhagen marking on the back of my Ole plate. But strangely enough, there is no "Denmark" sign or any information on where the plate was made. Smart trick, isn't it?

Your expensive Royal Copenhagen dinnerware can be made in Thailand, China, and Bangladesh without you knowing it. Can the pursue of profit justify all means? Have the customers the right to know where the things they buy are made in?

























Hmm, no "Denmark" marking on the back of Ole plate? Made in Thailand, perhaps? If it is made in Thailand where cheap labour abound, then it should have a Thailand price as well, not the exorbitant Danish price.

The trend of not showing the production country also occurs with other companies such as Menu and Georg Jensen. Whereas companies such as IKEA, Riedel, Mikasa, Narumi, and Yoshikin are honest, brave, and ethical enough to inform the public where their products are made in.















Buy AJ cutlery with the crisp and clear "Georg Jensen Stainless Denmark" marking.














The one with the vague and sloppy "Georg Jensen Stainless" marking is the inferior version of AJ cutlery. It is a total rip off.

Some of my Georg Jensen Arne Jacobsen (AJ) cutlery have the marking "Georg Jensen Stainless Denmark". This type has impeccable details and craftsmanship. It is thick, has even tidy edge, fine matte finish, and perfect round form. The dinner spoon is heavier, 60 gram.

On the contrary, the ones with "Georg Jensen Stainless" have lousy details and craftsmanship. The edge is not straight, the thickness is uneven, the bouillon/breakfast spoon is bulging and not smooth round. The matte finish is barely matte. The dinner spoon is thinner, only 55 gram.

Even the cheap 24-piece made-in-China IKEA Fornuft cutlery set has more even edge and details. And IKEA is honest and ethical enough to inform the customers where the cutlery was made.

IKEA Fornuft, 95 NOK/15 USD/24 pieces.

Georg Jensen AJ dinner spoon, 160 NOK/25 USD/1 piece.

The company grabs a mouthwatering profit margin that makes the annual report looks good, but you pay a premium price for a mediocre quality.

Is it fair? Does it hurt the Georg Jensen's brand image as a company that delivers "superior design and quality"? (See: http://www.georgjensen.com/en/Corporate/CorporateInformation/Vision.htm) Or is the short-term profit hunt on top of the long-term profit stability? Ruining a brand image that has been built with tremendous efforts for decades can be done in a short time. Is it worth it to sacrifice superior quality at the expense of brand image?

We choose Georg Jensen products because of their superior quality, not because of their IKEA made-in-China quality. And for that, we are willing to pay premium prices for Georg Jensen products. Abusing consumers' trust is a sure way of damaging the brand image.

So as a warning for all of you who want to buy AJ cutlery and other Georg Jensen products, pay attention to the marking. Ask the store to give you the AJ cutlery with the "Georg Jensen Stainless Denmark" marking. Don't let them give you the inferior ones. When you pay exorbitant prices for "superior design and quality", you have the right to get the best.

I have sent a letter to Georg Jensen in Denmark regarding this issue with photos of those two different markings, and I have not heard from them yet.

Updates:
According to a source at Royal Scandinavia Norge A.S. in Oslo, Norway, the AJ cutlery without the Denmark marking is made in a unspecified Asian country. Ole line, fortunately, is still made in Denmark.


References:

"Some of the production has also been moved to Thailand. Reorganisation has meant the work force has been cut in half to 400. "
http://www.denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,706507&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

"Georg jensen, Holmegaard and Royal Copenhagen are members of the Royal Scandinavia Group."
http://www.danishexporters.dk/scripts/danishexporters/royalscandinavia.asp?landekode=GB