Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions we hear most about shipping, returns, authenticity, and caring for fine tableware. Can’t find what you need? Call (201) 652-4233 or email sales@paristableware.com.
Ordering, Shipping & Returns
Do you ship across the United States?
Yes. Paris Tableware & Gifts ships throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. We are a family-owned store in Ridgewood, New Jersey, established in 1982, and every order is packed by hand.
Do you ship internationally?
Not at this time. We currently ship within the United States only.
How much does shipping cost?
Shipping is complimentary on orders over $150. Orders under $150 ship for a flat $15. Rates are shown at checkout before payment, and all prices are in U.S. dollars.
How long does it take for my order to ship?
Orders typically ship within 3–5 business days. Timing varies by brand and by whether a piece is in our store or coming from the manufacturer, so special orders and made-to-order patterns can take longer. If your order is time-sensitive, contact us before ordering and we will confirm availability and timing.
How are fragile items like porcelain and crystal packed?
By hand, in our store. Wherever possible pieces ship in the manufacturer’s original branded packaging and are then over-boxed with protective cushioning. High-value and oversized items may ship with additional insurance or signature confirmation.
What if my order arrives damaged?
Inspect your order on arrival. If anything arrives damaged, email sales@paristableware.com or call (201) 652-4233 within 48 hours of delivery, keep all original packaging, and send photographs of the item and the box. We will arrange a replacement or refund.
What is your return policy?
Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery, in original condition and original packaging, with proof of purchase. There is no restocking fee and we provide return labels. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method within 10 business days. Custom and personalized items, sale items, and gift cards are not returnable. To start a return, contact sales@paristableware.com.
Are your products authentic? Are you an authorized retailer?
Yes. Every piece we sell is new, first-quality, and sourced directly from the manufacturer or its official U.S. distributor — never from secondary markets. Pieces arrive with the maker’s own backstamp, signature, or hallmark and in their original branded packaging.
Do you have a wedding or gift registry?
Yes. You can build a wishlist or registry directly on our site, and our Registry Favorites collection gathers the pieces couples register for most, including Herend Golden Edge, Bernardaud, Gien, William Yeoward, Michael Aram, and L’Objet. For help building a registry, call us at (201) 652-4233.
Can I order a pattern or piece I don’t see on the site?
Often, yes. Our catalog is large but not exhaustive, and we can special-order many patterns and individual pieces from the brands we carry. Email sales@paristableware.com with the brand, pattern, and piece and we will check availability and pricing.
How do I care for fine porcelain and bone china?
Hand wash hand-painted and metal-banded pieces in warm water with mild detergent, and keep them out of the dishwasher and microwave — gold and platinum decoration will wear and can arc. Avoid sudden temperature changes, and stack plates with felt or paper separators to protect the glaze.
How do I care for crystal glassware?
Hand wash in lukewarm water with a mild detergent and dry with a lint-free cloth. Avoid dishwashers, very hot water, and sudden temperature changes, which can cloud or crack crystal. Store stemware upright rather than rim-down, and handle frosted or satin surfaces with clean hands since skin oils show.
How do I care for silver, silver-plate, and pewter?
Wash by hand and dry immediately — prolonged moisture causes spotting. Polish silver and silver-plate with a product made for the purpose and store in tarnish-resistant cloth. Keep sterling and plate away from salt, eggs, and sulfur-rich foods for long periods. Pewter should be hand washed and never put in a dishwasher.
About Our Brands
Herend
Is Herend porcelain really hand-painted?
Yes. Every decorated Herend piece is painted entirely by hand by master artisans at the Herend Manufactory in Hungary, using techniques passed down since the 19th century. Gold accents are applied in real 24-karat gold. No two hand-painted pieces are ever perfectly identical — small variations are the signature of the craft.
Where is Herend porcelain made?
All genuine Herend is made in the village of Herend, Hungary, near Lake Balaton, where the manufactory was founded in 1826. Herend has never moved production elsewhere — every piece is crafted and painted in Hungary and carries the Herend backstamp.
What are Herend's most famous patterns?
Queen Victoria (VBO) — shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London as a new "Far Eastern" design, and renamed for the Queen after she ordered a service for Windsor Castle — and Rothschild Bird (RO), commissioned by the Rothschild family in 1860, are the two most iconic. Chinese Bouquet (Apponyi), Printemps, Fortuna, and Herend's fishnet figurines are also perennial collector favorites. (All of these are patterns we carry.)
Is Herend porcelain valuable or collectible?
Very. Herend has supplied European royalty and aristocracy since the mid-1800s: orders came from Queen Victoria, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, and Maximilian I of Mexico, and in 1865 Mór Fischer was ennobled by Franz Joseph and the manufactory became official purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court. Complete services in patterns like Queen Victoria and Rothschild Bird regularly command thousands of dollars at auction, and figurines and limited editions are actively collected worldwide.
How should I care for Herend porcelain?
Hand wash in warm water with mild detergent. Because Herend decoration is hand-painted and finished in real 24k gold, dishwashers and microwaves should be avoided — they will wear the gilding and painted surface over time.
Lalique
Is Lalique real crystal?
Yes. René Lalique himself worked mainly in glass and demi-cristal (about 12% lead oxide). After his death in 1945 his son Marc doubled the lead content to 24%, so everything the maison has produced since the late 1940s is full lead crystal, marked Lalique® France — brighter, heavier, and with the deeper light play you see in Lalique's signature contrast of polished and satin-frosted surfaces.
Where is Lalique crystal made?
Every piece of Lalique crystal is made at the maison's only factory in Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace, France — the Verrerie d'Alsace that René Lalique founded there in 1921. He chose the Northern Vosges for its centuries-old glassmaking tradition and its skilled workforce. Production has never left Alsace, and the pieces are still made and finished by hand.
Who founded Lalique?
René Lalique (1860–1945), first celebrated as the master jeweler of the Art Nouveau era, founded the house in 1888 with his own workshop on the Place Gaillon in Paris, and later became the defining glassmaker of Art Deco — famous for the perfume bottles he made for François Coty from 1907, his car mascots, and his architectural glass. He opened his first glassworks in 1909 and the Alsace factory in 1921. His son Marc Lalique moved the house into full crystal after 1945.
How can I tell authentic Lalique?
Modern authentic pieces are signed/engraved "Lalique® France." Buying from an authorized retailer guarantees a new, first-quality piece in Lalique's original presentation box. (Pre-1945 pieces signed "R. Lalique" are a separate collector market for antique glass.)
How do I clean a Lalique vase or sculpture?
Hand wash gently in lukewarm water with mild soap and dry with a lint-free cloth. Never put Lalique in a dishwasher, avoid hot water and sudden temperature changes, and handle frosted surfaces with clean hands — skin oils show on satin finishes.
Daum
What is Daum pâte de verre?
Pâte de verre ("glass paste") is Daum's signature technique: crushed crystal is packed into a one-use refractory mould made by the lost-wax process and fused in a kiln, producing Daum's unmistakable luminous, jewel-colored sculptures. Daum brought the technique back in 1968 and is one of the only crystal houses in the world still working in this demanding way — the mould is destroyed to release each piece, so every sculpture is made one at a time.
Where is Daum made?
Daum is a French house born in Nancy, Lorraine, in 1878, when Jean Daum took over a glassworks there; his sons Auguste and Antonin turned it into one of the great names of Art Nouveau. Nancy was the heart of that movement, and the brothers' work won the Grand Prix at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Daum crystal is still produced in France, at Nancy and at Vannes-le-Châtel.
Do artists really design Daum pieces?
Yes — collaborating with artists is central to Daum. When the house revived pâte de verre in 1968, Jacques Daum travelled to Cadaqués to propose a collaboration to Salvador Dalí, and the sculptors and designers who followed have kept that tradition going: Daum still releases artist-designed and numbered limited editions today.
Are Daum pieces limited editions?
Many are. Daum regularly issues numbered limited editions, especially artist collaborations and large sculptures. The edition size, where applicable, is shown on the product page and on the piece's documentation.
How do I care for a Daum sculpture or vase?
Dust with a soft dry cloth; when needed, clean with lukewarm water and mild soap, then dry immediately. Never use a dishwasher, abrasive cleaners, or very hot water — and lift sculptures by the body, never by thin decorative elements.
Gien
Where is Gien faience made?
In the town of Gien itself, on the banks of the Loire in France, where the Faïencerie de Gien was founded in 1821. The manufactory still produces its faience (fine French earthenware) there today — over 200 years in the same place.
What is faience? Is it porcelain?
Faience is fine glazed earthenware — a different material from porcelain, with its own tradition. Gien's faience is prized for its rich, painterly colors and depth of decoration, a style French makers perfected in the 19th century. It is fired at lower temperatures than porcelain, which is exactly what allows its vivid palette.
How old is the Faïencerie de Gien?
Gien was founded in 1821 by Thomas Edme Hulm (known as "Hall"), an English industrialist who set up the works in the former convent of the Minimes at Gien. It became one of the most important fine-earthenware factories in 19th-century Europe, known for armorial dinner services made for prominent French and European families — and, from 1906 until 1980, for the glossy bevelled white tiles that lined the stations of the Paris Métro.
What are Gien's famous patterns?
Gien's motifs draw on French garden, hunt, and countryside themes, and the house regularly collaborates with contemporary designers. Among the patterns we stock, the best known are Filet (Gien's classic banded border, offered in a full range of colors), Millefleurs, Toscana, Sologne, Tulipes, Oiseaux de Paradis, Les Dépareillées, Poésie, and Provence. Collectors also seek Gien's 19th-century armorial and themed decorative plates.
Can I use Gien dinnerware every day?
Yes — Gien makes true table earthenware meant to be used. Care guidance varies by pattern: pieces with gilded or hand-applied accents should be hand washed, while many standard glazed patterns tolerate gentle dishwasher cycles. Check the product page for each pattern's specific guidance.
Bernardaud
Is Bernardaud real Limoges porcelain?
Yes. Bernardaud has made porcelain in Limoges, France — the historic capital of French hard-paste porcelain — since 1863, and every Bernardaud piece carries the Limoges mark. Limoges porcelain is prized for its whiteness, translucency, and strength.
Is Bernardaud still family-owned?
Yes — five generations on. The factory was opened in Limoges in 1863 by two local industrialists; a young apprentice named Léonard Bernardaud rose to head of sales, was made a partner, and bought the company in 1900, giving it his name. It has stayed in the family ever since and is led today by chairman and CEO Michel Bernardaud, the fifth generation, with the sixth generation now working in the business.
What makes Bernardaud different from other porcelain makers?
Bernardaud pairs classic Limoges craftsmanship with genuinely contemporary design — in 1967 Pierre Bernardaud commissioned industrial-design legend Raymond Loewy to create the first contemporary porcelain service made in Limoges, and the house continues to collaborate with leading artists and designers. It also runs the Bernardaud Foundation for ceramic art in Limoges.
Is Bernardaud dinnerware durable enough for daily use?
Yes — Limoges hard-paste porcelain is fired at very high temperatures and is remarkably strong for its delicacy. White and non-gilded Bernardaud patterns handle regular use well; patterns with gold or platinum bands should be hand washed and kept out of the microwave.
What are popular Bernardaud collections?
Bernardaud is known both for refined white and gold table services and for artist and designer collaborations. The collections we carry in the greatest depth include Écume, Athéna, Constance, Kintsugi, Albertine, Palmyre, Dune, Louvre, Féerie, and Pompadour — ranging from formal gilded services to everyday white porcelain.
William Yeoward
Is William Yeoward crystal handmade?
Yes — every piece is handmade: mouth-blown, hand-cut, and hand-engraved by skilled craftsmen using traditional methods, many unchanged for more than 150 years. That handwork is why each glass has the weight, clarity, and crisp cutting of antique crystal.
Who was William Yeoward?
William Yeoward is one of London's leading designers — celebrated for classic English furniture, lighting, fabrics, and interiors, with a store on the King's Road — and an avid collector of antique crystal. A chance meeting in 1993 introduced him to Timothy Jenkins, third-generation owner of the family crystal business John Jenkins (founded 1901); they discovered a shared passion for 18th- and 19th-century glass and launched William Yeoward Crystal in 1995.
What inspires William Yeoward Crystal designs?
The great English and Irish crystal of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Yeoward and Jenkins set out to bring the magnificent cut and engraved pieces of Georgian dining rooms back to the modern table — reinterpreted, not reproduced. In 2008 the company was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment as supplier of crystal glass by HRH The Prince of Wales. [CONFIRM: whether the Royal Warrant carried over after the 2022 accession — if unconfirmed, cite it strictly as "granted in 2008", never as a current warrant.]
Why are the collections named after women?
It's a house signature: each William Yeoward Crystal collection carries a woman's name — Alexis, Bunny, Camilla, Gigi, and many more — which also makes patterns easy to match and add to over time.
How should I wash William Yeoward crystal?
Always by hand, one piece at a time, in warm water with mild detergent — never in a dishwasher. Hold stemware by the bowl while washing, dry immediately with a lint-free cloth, and store upright.