The tradition of capodimonte dates from 1736, when King Charles III of bourbon gathered the finest painters sculptors and craftmen in the workshop of his royal palace of capodimonte, in Naples. Later, in 1759, during the reign of Ferdinand IV, the factory was called “Royal Fernandea Factory “ and it worked until 1821; there those artists developed a style coveted the world over: the capodimonte style. the mark was represented first by a royal crown with the letters “ F.R.F.” (Fernandea Royal Factory ), later on it was changed in a “N” surmounted by a royal crown; nowadays, this is the most common mark used to distinguish an original capodimonte piece from a copy and this is the mark that union has registered all over the world.
Since the origins the capodimonte name has remained the leading make in european porcelain and today it is synonymous with the highest standard and quality of marvellous porcelain items crafted in the great tradition of the early palace artisans. a real c.item has to be handmade and handpainted in italy, its original country, it also has to be manufactured in porcelain or ceramic, the only original materials used in the 18th century. Union is characterized for being among the last few companies still using porcelain, which is more difficult to be worked and shaped than ceramic; in fact, there is a great difference between the two materials: first of all the porcelain chemical elements are more esteemed and require a different working process, because porcelain has to be fired at 1280 celsius degrees whereas ceramic only needs 980 ones and this is what makes porcelain stronger than ceramic. besides, thanks to the higher temperature it is being cooked , porcelain, no matter if it is mat or glazed, does not absorb water: so, in a porcelain vase, for example, you can pour water, while in a ceramic one you cannot, otherwise in a short time the water would run through the vase and damage it. finally, a porcelain piece, if hit by your finger nail, sounds sharp, as crystal does, while ceramic produces a lower sound, as wood and plastic do.