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| Bird Spotting A Fake Kingfisher or Two (or three) Copyright G&S Thistlewood, 2006 |
| At least three faked versions of the Australian Crown Crystal "Kingfisher" small berry bowl have been observed (the first ones appeared in the spring of 2006). None appear to be produced from an original mould. We have done sketches of two of them to point out the differences - you can see them below (centre and right). Please note these are sketches, purely for identification and comparison, so fine details are not present. Details of the third version can be read in the "UPDATE" below. |
| Left, an original Crown Crystal Kingfisher Click the photo to see full size pictures |
| FAKE This one has been reported on a ruffled small berry in purple (dark) Carnival. You can see a photo of the item and also, for comparison, our photos of the original Crown Crystal Kingfisher berry, on Dave Doty's website. Look where the crossover of the encircling twigs is. It can be seen in the top right hand section of the design. It was not possible for us to be fully sure of the position of all the leaves, so they have not all been shown in the sketch above. The background behind the bird is also stippled. |
| A |
| B |
| C |
| ORIGINAL This is an original Crown Crystal Kingfisher design, as shown on the colour photo above. Note the location of the crossover of the encircling twigs. The Registered Design number is shown as RD 4184. Note that the letter D is a smaller size and is underlined. On the originals, the background behind the bird is all stippled. There is also another old version of this original Kingfisher design that has floral wattle sprigs added. |
| FAKE This one has been reported on a smooth edged (no ruffles)small berry in clear Carnival with a pastel iridescence. The bird is not at all like the original Crown Crystal version and has a totally different tail. The eye appears almond shaped.The branch on which the bird sits does not have the upright twigs. There are more leaves than on the original, but the crossover is in the correct place. The most telling feature though is the RD. Amusingly, the fake has RP instead of RD. Seems the small letter D on the original was misinterpreted as a P. |
| Possibly the most glaring difference between Fake B and the original Crown Crystal Kingfisher berry A is the location of the crossover of the encircling twigs, which is in the wrong place entirely. The recently reported fake (see UPDATE above) has had the position of the crossover altered to be in accordance with the originals! The most glaring difference between the Fake C and the original Kingfisher, is the use of the letter P instead of the underlined D in the moulded RD number. But of course, there are many other differences between the fakes and the original. The Crown Crystal original Kingfishers have no mould seams (they were made from a one piece mould). The original has a ground base which measures just over 2 1/4" (6cm). The Fake B has a much wider base than that, and may carry traces of iridescence. The Fake C is smooth and unruffled, as well as being made in a pearly white Carnival effect - nothing like the original versions. Especially interesting is the visible mould seam around the outer edge of the fakes. We will report any further findings. Please email us if you want to pass on any further information. |
| Summing Up |
| A further version of the berry bowl has been reported (on the wwwcga Mailing List, courtesy and many thanks to Ray Rogers in Australia). Essentially it is like the Fake version B shown in the centre sketch above, but with one very important difference - the one currently seen now has the crossover of the encircling twigs in the correct place (at the bottom, as in the Original A). We spotted what we believe is an interesting characteristic on the fake. It appears that that there is visible mould seam around the entire top edge of the little berry. This is not seen on the original Kingfisher items. Ray Rogers has confirmed this observation and he further notes that he recently observed several dark (amethyst) fake Kingfisher berries, and all were much thicker than the Crown Crystal originals, and were very heavy. One "marigold" (orange-yellow) example of the fake, however, was of lighter glass. The exterior and base of the fakes is not at all like the original Crown Crystal pieces either. The iridescence, the base, the finish - all have characteristics that an experienced collector would immediately recognise is wrong. They are clearly very inferior in all aspects, when compared with an original item. So far, the only fakes we are aware of are the small Kingfisher berries. (EMAIL) us if you have any further information on these fakes. |
| To learn more about Crown Crystal Glass go to Cathy Bannister's website Australian Crown Crystal To find out more about Australian Carnival Glass Carnival Glass Collectors Association of Australia |
| UPDATE - July 2006 |
| UPDATE - November 2006 |
| More of the fake small berries (nappies) have shown up - sincere thanks to Australian collectors Cathy Bannister and Julie Hynes for their constant vigilence in watching for these items. As well as a pale pink base glass (not iridised) there has also been a clear base glass berry bowl with a pastel iridescence, as well as marigold and amethyst. The edges on most of the fakes so far seen have been either 8 ruffled or unruffled. Note that the genuine, original small bowls usually have 12 tight ruffles. |
| Copyright G&SThistlewood, 2006, 2007, 2008 No text or image may be copied without permission Sincere thanks to Ray Rogers, Julie Hynes and Cathy Bannister for their constant help |
| UPDATE 2008 |
| Although we haven't observed any fresh fakes, we constantly caution against complacency. If you think you may have spotted one or you want advice, please contact us. New bowls marked SUMMERLAND and featuring a platypus or a koala were launched in 2007. These have been made in China and are available in blue, white and dark (purple) Carnival. The exterior of these bowls features a reproduction of the Classic Australian FERN AND WATTLE design. The interior uses a facsimile of the encircling waratah and flannel flower design that is found on the old Crown Crystal KOOKABURRA bowls. |