El Portal Porcelana

Counterfeits -

Have bogus marks that are the wrong color (a sort of purplish blue instead of the vivid cobalt of the genuine backstamp) and that have strange curlicues where things like the ® mark over the "o" in "Lladró" should be.

Seconds -

All porcelain factories make them - even Meissen did! Lladró's are distinguished by the scraping off of the Spanish bellflower logo on the mark that should appear centered above the name (see photo). Value is substantially affected by a missing logo flower. Perfectly good items sold through Lladró outlets in New York state and Williamsburg, Virginia also have the logo scraped off. Also, in a sort of Faustian bargain Lladró struck with defendants in a lawsuit against so-called "gray market" dealers in current issues Lladró (i.e., deealers operating outside Lladroó's "authorized" network of dealers), the courts determined that gray market dealers were allowed to continue selling retail Lladró as long as such dealers also scraped the logo flower amd/or other parts of the mark off the base. The upshot of all this is that it's vritually impossible to tell whether an items with an altered mark hasbeen rejected at the factory as a second quality piece or whether it used to be a perfectly good first quality piece with the logo removed by a Lladró outlet or a gray market dealer. Because of this ambiguity, serious collectors avoid items with scraped marks.




This 1989 Christmas bell is difficult to find and commands strong prices on the secondary market. Not this particular example, though - not with that scraped off bell-flower logo that should appear centered above the name. (Photo by the author.)

Rare "prototypic" items -

Things that never went into production and are usually one of a kind samples sometimes sold at the factory. This is the one exception to the rule when it comes to the missing logo flower because it's also missing on prototypes! Unlike the seconds and outlet purchases, these are considered highly desirable and very valuable, but it does take some time and experience to be able to tell a prototype from a second - or from items that actually did go into production, but in another Lladró brand called NAO. (See Items Known to Have Been Produced Under Both Marks).

Damaged items -

Unless the item is old and very difficult to find, these are not a good investment. Places to watch for damage include delicate projecting parts such as flowerwork and hands and fingers on human models. Flowerwork damage is an exception to the rule for depressed value after restoration; Lladró itself regards a restoration by a competent retorationist using Lladr#243-supplied flower parts as a restoration to pristine condition. For other missing parts, though (e.g., hands, arms, feet, etc.), the restorer will have to reconstruct from scratch, and these items will almost always look as if they have been restored.

At Last - A New Lladró Book! The Lladró Guide; A Collector's Reference to Retired Porcelain Figurines in Lladró Brands My most recent Lladró book has revised and expanded content and remains the only book in print on this topic that isn't just a catalog. Covers all Lladró and Lladró-affiliated brands (regular collection, NAO, Zaphir, Golden Memories, Hispania, Rosal, and Tang) and tells how to distinguish them from imitations and counterfeits. Revised and expanded content includes many new photos and a new chapter on future directions for collectors and the company now that it has passed from family hands. The book is in hard cover, which eliminates that annoying curl-up that happens with paperback books. You can order the book directly from the publisher, Schiffer Books, on Amazon, or from your favorite bookstore using the ISBN 13 number 978-0764358395. Warning: If you're looking for a catalog of every retired figurine Lladró ever made, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for beautiful, full-color photos of representative models and more in-depth and well-researched information about Lladró and its history and production than you can get in thumbnail photos with captions, this book is what you're looking for. Retail Price in Hardcover: $45

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