Royal Copenhagen

The Royal Copenhagen factory began production in 1775 as the Royal Porcelain Factory under the patronage of the Royal family. This continued until the end of absoloute monarchy in the late 1860s when the factory moved into private hands. In 1882 the Alumina Factory acquired the company and moved to a modern factory on their site at site in Frederiksberg.

In 1898 Royal Copenhagen qualified for the World Expo in paris winning the Grand Prix for their underglaze designs. Towards the end of the 20th century international competition sharpens to such an extent that the European art industry is compelled to amalgamate its resources in mergers, buy-outs and new partnerships. The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory had already bought Georg Jensen Silversmithy in 1972.

In 1985 the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory and Holmegaards Glassworks merge under the name Royal Copenhagen A/S.

In 1987 Bing & Grøndahl joins Royal Copenhagen. The intention is to secure a strong position for the Danish art industry globally.

Numerous foreign subsidiaries are strengthened and established, and Royal Copenhagen shops open on prestigious thoroughfares in cities throughout Europe, the USA, East Asia and Australia. Finally, the best of the Danish and Swedish art industry merges when Royal Copenhagen joins forces with the Swedish glass works Orreefors Kosta Boda, under the name Royal Scandinavia. The porcelain division continues to bear the name Royal Copenhagen. Royal Scandinavia was owned by the Danish private equity fund Axcel. This holding has now been disposed of by selling elements to various other groups. In December 2012 Axcel sold Royal Copenhagen to the Finnish listed company Fiskars, which was founded in 1649. The company now produces its products in Thailand.