Frequently asked questions
In our FAQs you will find answers to topics including ordering, shipping, payment, returns and the care of FÜRSTENBERG porcelain. Clear, concise and helpful – ensuring a smooth shopping experience in our online shop.
Ordering in our online shop is easy: add your favourite items to the shopping cart and then start the checkout process. There you can conveniently select your billing and delivery address as well as your preferred payment and shipping method. With just a few clicks, your new favourite porcelain will be on its way to you.
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You will receive your order confirmation by email after completing your purchase in our online shop.
No, you can also place your order conveniently as a guest.
No, you can order in our online shop from any order value.
Please understand that orders that have already been placed can no longer be changed afterwards or supplemented with additional items. Of course, you are welcome to place a new order at any time.
Yes, you can also have your order sent as a gift. Simply select the “gift wrapping” option during checkout and we will wrap your chosen porcelain with care and to a high standard. You can also add a personal greeting card. This way, your gift will arrive not only safely but also particularly stylishly.
To cancel an order, please contact our customer service at +49 5271 401-138.
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Our customer service team will be happy to advise you personally at +49 5271 401-138 and help you find your new desired porcelain.
Contact form
We are very sorry that your order arrived damaged. In this case, please contact our customer service immediately at +49 5271 401-138, ideally quoting your order number. If possible, please also send us brief documentation or a photo of the damaged goods afterwards. We will take care of a solution as quickly as possible and, of course, ensure that you receive a flawless replacement product.
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In our online shop you can pay using the following methods:
- PayPal
- credit card
- direct debit
- advance payment (bank transfer).
The invoice is enclosed in the parcel and you will receive it together with your new favourite porcelain. For advance payments, you will receive all necessary information by email in advance. We enclose the invoice with your shipment so that you receive it along with your new favourite porcelain.
Shipping within Germany is free of charge. For all shipments outside Germany, please refer to our shipping costs table
We ship your order with DHL.
Please refer to the list of shipping countries in the shipping costs table.
Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, orders cannot be collected from our FÜRSTENBERG store.
Delivery within Germany
2–3 business days
Delivery within the EU
- Europe I (2–3 business days): Czech Republic, Austria, Latvia, San Marino, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Monaco, Poland, Luxembourg, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Vatican City, Bulgaria, Netherlands
- Europe II (3–5 business days): Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Norway, Faroe Islands, Slovenia, Estonia, Portugal, Ukraine, Lithuania, Andorra, Spain
- Europe III (4–5 business days): Greece, Ireland, Croatia, Iceland
- Europe IV (12–15 business days): Cyprus
Delivery outside the EU
- International I (5–7 business days): Japan, United Arab Emirates
- International II (5–10 business days): Oman, Kuwait, Israel, Saudi Arabia
- International III (10–12 business days): Serbia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, USA, Albania, Moldova, Malta, Mexico, Belarus
- International IV (15–20 business days): New Zealand, Australia
- International V (25–30 business days): Argentina, Paraguay, India, Chile, Taiwan, Namibia, Peru, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, South Korea, Colombia, Canada, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela
Important note
The stated delivery times refer to the shipping transit time only. If an item is not in stock or is made to order, the delivery time will be extended accordingly.
After each order, you will receive an email confirmation. It also includes the tracking number from our shipping service provider, which you can use to conveniently track your parcel online at any time.
No, partial delivery is unfortunately not possible.
Please contact our customer service at +49 5271 401-138—our team will be happy to help.
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Empty product packaging should be returned to the recycling stream. Please dispose of plastic and composite packaging via the yellow bag/yellow bin, and cardboard via the paper recycling bin. Our shipping packaging such as cartons and films can also be recycled this way.
If the delivered goods do not meet your expectations, you may of course return them to us within 14 days of receipt.
Please first complete the cancellation form and email it to shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com.
Your delivery already includes a return label for free return shipping. Please enter the required information on the return label and enclose it with the return shipment.
As soon as your return has arrived and has been inspected, we will refund the purchase amount promptly.
Please contact our customer service at +49 5271 401-138—we will be happy to help.
You can find the cancellation policy here: cancellation policy
As soon as your return has arrived and has been inspected, we will refund the purchase amount promptly using the payment method you selected.
No, a customer account is not required to place an order—you can of course also shop conveniently as a guest.
However, we recommend creating a customer account so you can benefit from our advantages:
- Faster shopping for future orders
- Storage of your personal data and settings for greater convenience
- Overview of your orders and shipping information available online at any time
- Easy management of your newsletter subscription
If you have forgotten your password, simply click “Forgot password”.
Then enter your email address and we will send you a message with a link. You can use that link to easily set a new password.
Log in to your customer account and change your billing or delivery address under “Addresses”.
Please note that changes apply only to future orders and cannot be made for orders that have already been placed.
Log in to your customer account and find your personal data in the “Overview” section.
Log in to your customer account and open the “Personal Profile” section. At the bottom of the page, you will find the link “Click here to delete all of your personal data”. This will open a “Delete account” window. Confirm by clicking “Delete account” to permanently remove your customer account.
If you would like to subscribe to the FÜRSTENBERG newsletter, simply enter your email address in the designated field. You can find this field at the bottom of our homepage.
In the footer of our newsletter, you will find the note “If you no longer wish to receive the FÜRSTENBERG newsletter, click here.” After clicking on the link, please confirm by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” button.
In our online shop you can purchase gift vouchers worth €10, €20, €50 and €100.
You can easily redeem your gift voucher during the checkout process.
Enter the voucher code in the designated field in the cart overview (right at the start of checkout) or at the checkout. The voucher amount will be deducted automatically from the total.
Please note that multiple purchase vouchers can be redeemed at the same time. Any remaining balances are not paid out but will be credited to your customer account.
Yes, you can send a voucher directly to the desired recipient’s email address along with a greeting message.
To do so, please enter the relevant information on the voucher product detail page.
You can reach our FÜRSTENBERG customer service by email at shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com and by phone at +49 5271 401-138.
- Monday to Thursday: 9:00–15:30
- Friday: 9:00–13:00
You can reach our FÜRSTENBERG store by email at geschaeft@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com and by phone at +49 5271 401-110 during opening hours.
- Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00–18:00
You can reach our MUSEUM Schloss FÜRSTENBERG by email at museum@fuerstenberg-schloss.com and by phone at +49 5271 966778-10 during opening hours.
- Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00–17:00
Porcelain is a fine ceramic product made by firing a mixture of kaolin (china clay), feldspar and quartz.
Kaolin is the moldable component of the porcelain body; it provides the outer shape and the white colour. Quartz forms the framework of the porcelain and gives it stability during firing. Feldspar is crucial for the density of porcelain; as a flux it lowers the melting point of quartz and kaolin during firing.
It is the small details that reveal true porcelain craftsmanship and give FÜRSTENBERG porcelain its special value: double-walled vessels whose ultra-thin inner and outer walls can be assembled by hand; decorations that meet beneath the handle; or gold embellishments that run over the rim (e.g., the edge of a cup) and can only be executed as hand painting.
More than a thousand years ago, the Chinese discovered white clay on Mount Gaoling and named it after the mountain: “kaolin”.
At the foot of the mountain, the city of Jingdezhen emerged, which is still a centre of porcelain production today. At that time only small amounts of porcelain reached Europe, where it was therefore regarded as a marvellous curiosity.
It takes months to years for an idea to become a finished product. It begins with a drawing. Only after many discussions, samples and corrections is a model ready for production.
The production process itself also takes several days. As we say at FÜRSTENBERG, an item passes through 100 hands: from throwing or casting the porcelain body into plaster moulds, to trimming and finishing, bisque firing, decorating, glazing, gloss firing, and finally fine finishing and polishing.
Ceramic is made primarily of clay and is fired at around 600°C. Ceramic tableware has a coarser structure and is usually more traditional and rustic.
Porcelain, like FÜRSTENBERG porcelain, has a fine structure and, because it is fired at up to 1,400°C, is harder and less sensitive. Due to the rarer raw materials required and the elaborate manufacturing process, porcelain is the higher-quality product.
White, glossy, translucent and hard—these are the qualities associated with porcelain. Only firing turns the mixture of kaolin, quartz and feldspar into the sought-after material, because only at extremely high temperatures does the feldspar melt and dissolve the other components. This densifies the body and gives it hardness and translucency.
Porcelain goes through the “fiery inferno” of the kiln twice: bisque firing and gloss firing. During bisque firing, the body is consolidated and becomes water-insoluble. The actual melting process—sintering—takes place during gloss firing at up to 1,400°C. Each firing lasts about 13 hours including cooling time.
Porcelain has very special properties: in addition to extreme hardness—one square centimetre of porcelain can withstand a compressive load of five tonnes—these include the feel, translucency and radiant whiteness.
Porcelain feels cool and is therefore a poor conductor of heat. Glazed surfaces are smooth, while polished surfaces can feel almost velvety.
Translucency is a unique feature of porcelain and varies depending on the thickness of the body; very fine, thin bodies allow daylight to shine through.
Another special feature of FÜRSTENBERG porcelain is that all items share the same degree of whiteness, allowing different collections to be combined individually.
In Europe—also at FÜRSTENBERG—hard-paste porcelain is predominantly produced, while soft-paste porcelain is mainly produced in China.
Because of a higher kaolin content and higher firing temperatures, hard-paste porcelain has harder glaze surfaces and a particularly strong body.
Bone china contains 50–60% bone ash or calcium phosphate; its distinguishing features are its translucent body and brilliant white colour.
Biscuit porcelain is fired without glaze; its special characteristics are a marble-like appearance and a rougher surface.
Porcelain production began in China as early as the 9th century. From the 17th century, merchants imported it to Europe. The secret of its manufacture was strictly guarded.
In the 18th century, it became possible to produce porcelain in Germany; in 1747 the FÜRSTENBERG porcelain manufactory was founded, which today is Germany’s second-oldest porcelain manufactory.
The merchant Marco Polo was the first to report on Chinese porcelain. He named it after cowrie shells, Italian “porcellana”, because people believed porcelain was made from their shells.
You can recognise genuine FÜRSTENBERG porcelain by its characteristic trademark: the blue “F” with a crown, located on the underside of every original piece.
This hallmark has stood for the highest craftsmanship, quality and authenticity since 1747, so you can be sure you are holding a genuine FÜRSTENBERG piece.
The FÜRSTENBERG porcelain manufactory was founded by Duke Carl I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
The FÜRSTENBERG porcelain manufactory was founded in 1747.
Whether your FÜRSTENBERG porcelain is dishwasher-safe depends on the type of decoration:
- Plain white porcelain without decoration is generally dishwasher-safe.
- Underglaze decorations (e.g., the cobalt-blue LOTTINE decoration from ALT FÜRSTENBERG) are protected by the glaze and are therefore dishwasher- and abrasion-resistant.
- Inglaze decorations, like most multi-coloured FÜRSTENBERG decorations, are also dishwasher-safe.
- Overglaze decorations (often hand-painted) and decorations with precious metals (gold and platinum) are not dishwasher- or abrasion-resistant—here we recommend gentle hand-washing.
If you are unsure, please contact our customer service at shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com or by phone at +49 5271 401-138.
Whether your porcelain is microwave-safe depends on the decoration.
Pure white porcelain without metal embellishments can generally be used in the microwave without concern.
Decorations with precious metals such as gold or platinum are not microwave-safe, as the metals can cause sparks and damage the porcelain.
If you are unsure, please contact our customer service at shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com or by phone at +49 5271 401-138.
When loading and unloading the dishwasher, make sure to avoid knocks and impacts.
Place your porcelain in the dishwasher rack so that the items do not touch each other during the wash cycle and no cutlery or similar items can knock against them.
All decorations with precious metals, such as the SIP OF GOLD champagne cups, are generally dishwasher-safe.
However, for long-term preservation we recommend cleaning your porcelain by hand. If you use the dishwasher, please select a gentle cycle at a maximum of 55 °C.
Please note that after around 200 wash cycles, the first losses in shine may occur, and also follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding gentle programs and detergents.
Gold and platinum are soft precious metals and are therefore susceptible to scratching—small scratches from cutlery or stacking cannot be completely avoided.
Do not use abrasive cleaners or sponges when washing, especially not microfibre cloths, as these may contain fine abrasive particles. We recommend soft cotton cloths for cleaning.
When stacking your porcelain, we recommend using separators made of fabric or paper.
Please also note that decorations with precious metals are not suitable for microwave use.
If your porcelain has a film, looks dull, or shows dark abrasion marks from cutlery, you can remove these deposits with a commercially available ceramic or porcelain cleaner.
No, there is no repurchase guarantee for FÜRSTENBERG porcelain.
No, we do not restore damaged porcelain.
Yes, FÜRSTENBERG has a catalogue that we would be happy to send you.
If you are interested, please contact our customer service at shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com or by phone at +49 5271 401-138.
As soon as your return has arrived and has been inspected, we will refund the purchase amount promptly using the payment method you selected.
Yes, custom-made items are possible at FÜRSTENBERG.
Our customer service will be happy to advise you at shop@fuerstenberg-porzellan.com or by phone at +49 5271 401-138.
