I know it sounds a bit nerdy, but at the same time also quite exciting. We are often asked: How do you tell the difference between Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl plates?

 

For us who work with them, the difference between Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl plates is obvious, but it is not as easy for others. In reality plates from Bing & Grondahl and Royal Copenhagen are quite similar.

 

They are produced in the same way and in a similar style. If one does not look at The factory brand under the plates, you can easily confuse them.

 

In addition, many abroad first became acquainted with Danish porcelain after 1987, when B&G and Royal Copenhagen were merged. So for them, it's the same.

 

They do not know the competition and the difference in the customer base that existed between B&G and Royal Copenhagen and it is probably also forgotten by many Danes today.

 

Nowadays Bing & Grondahl and Royal Copenhagen are the same company and owned by Fiskars. They are now produced together and the price of the new releases has been at the same level for many years.

 

 

The image above shows the Royal Copenhagen Christmas series 2016. I have chosen to show it, because it makes it easy see the difference between the Christmas plates from Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl.

 

The Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate is the one with the girl and the bike, while the B&G Christmas plate is the one with the snowman and the two children with the sledge.

 

The Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates are decorated with a rim around the motifs. The rim have always been there and over the years, it became stylized with spruce branches and a Christmas star at the top. On the B&G Christmas plates, the motif goes all the way to the edge and a Christmas star usually appears in the sky on the motif.  

 

 

Both Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl have released many memorial plates, especially the blue-painted ones are very similar in design, but at Royal Copenhagen you will find a predominance of royal memorial plates compared to Bing & Grondahl.

 

This is because Royal Copenhagen was much more closely associated with the royal family and Royal Copenhagen's customers were often more conservative and royalist. 

 

Bing & Grondahl also had royal memorial plates, but not to the same extent as Royal Copenhagen. B&G was also perceived as the porcelain of the more progressive bourgeoisie. 

Lone Risager Therkelsen