fossilfly
02-08-2007, 11:37 PM
Fakes threaten Murano glass from Venice
Thu Feb 8, 3:55 PM ET
World-famous Murano glass, hand crafted by highly skilled Venetian artisans for more than 1,000 years, is threatened by fakes, a local association said.
"About 40 percent of the glass sold in Italian stores and presented as Murano is not," the head of the association, Gianni de Checchi, told reporters in Rome.
Hurling a fake Murano vase to the floor for dramatic effect, De Checchi said: "It came from China. Customs police recently seized 30,000 objects at Rome's Fiumicino airport coming from China and labelled 'Made in Murano'."
Gianfranco Albertini, who heads an association that protects the interests of Murano glassblowers, complained further that "unloyal competitors" made glassware resembling Murano without labelling it as such.
"We are not against competition, but we are opposed to unloyal competition, such as that from countries like India, Poland, the Czech Republic that copy our products" without claiming that they are Murano.
Murano glass, known for its light weight, its wide range of colors and its hand crafting, has been documented since 982.
"We know that we are twice as expensive as our competition, but that what we produce artisanally are objects of art," Albertini said.
The industry currently employs just 830 people in 87 companies, with an overall turnover of 157 million euros (200 million dollars) last year.
At its height in the 19th century some 36,000 craftsmen made the glassware, Albertini said.
I believe this comes from an interview with Promovetro, the Murano trade organization who who hold the trademark and certify a lot of the glass made in Murano. Fakes are always around, seeming more and more every day, but i believe the number of companies is understated, although not by much. The 87 are probably the only ones represented by Promovetro, there are others that do not participate in the organization. Still 200 million for an entire industry is not much for an art form that has been around for centuries.
Thu Feb 8, 3:55 PM ET
World-famous Murano glass, hand crafted by highly skilled Venetian artisans for more than 1,000 years, is threatened by fakes, a local association said.
"About 40 percent of the glass sold in Italian stores and presented as Murano is not," the head of the association, Gianni de Checchi, told reporters in Rome.
Hurling a fake Murano vase to the floor for dramatic effect, De Checchi said: "It came from China. Customs police recently seized 30,000 objects at Rome's Fiumicino airport coming from China and labelled 'Made in Murano'."
Gianfranco Albertini, who heads an association that protects the interests of Murano glassblowers, complained further that "unloyal competitors" made glassware resembling Murano without labelling it as such.
"We are not against competition, but we are opposed to unloyal competition, such as that from countries like India, Poland, the Czech Republic that copy our products" without claiming that they are Murano.
Murano glass, known for its light weight, its wide range of colors and its hand crafting, has been documented since 982.
"We know that we are twice as expensive as our competition, but that what we produce artisanally are objects of art," Albertini said.
The industry currently employs just 830 people in 87 companies, with an overall turnover of 157 million euros (200 million dollars) last year.
At its height in the 19th century some 36,000 craftsmen made the glassware, Albertini said.
I believe this comes from an interview with Promovetro, the Murano trade organization who who hold the trademark and certify a lot of the glass made in Murano. Fakes are always around, seeming more and more every day, but i believe the number of companies is understated, although not by much. The 87 are probably the only ones represented by Promovetro, there are others that do not participate in the organization. Still 200 million for an entire industry is not much for an art form that has been around for centuries.