A Sad Farewell to Rosalinde : French Porcelain Firm to Discontinue Pattern

After 124 years of gracing dining tables with its delicate rose design and 24-carat gold rim and ring on a cream and white porcelain, the popular Rosalinde classic china pattern has reached its final year.

Charles W. Thompson, president of Haviland & Co., has announced that Rosalinde, one of the French porcelain company’s oldest patterns, will be available for replacements and add-ons only through the end of December.

“It’s a little saddening,” said Terry Friend, marketing assistant at Haviland in New Jersey, “we’re getting a lot of frantic responses from people--from grandmothers who started off with the set and passed it on from generation to generation; from a lot of young brides who are trying to find replacement pieces.”

Created in 1865

The Rosalinde china pattern was created in a factory in Limoges, France, in 1865 and has since captured America and the rest of the world, selling more than 1 million pieces.

“It’s been in continuous production ever since and has remained our No. 2 seller in the last two years,” Friend said. (The No. 1 Haviland seller is currently the Louveciennes pattern, with its greens, blues and rose design and 24-carat gold rim.)

Throughout the years, the pattern has become a collector’s item and instigated the production of a successful commemorative service just a few years ago. The service was signed in gold by Frederick Haviland, the great-grandson of the company’s founder.

Friend said that the Rosalinde pattern is being discontinued because the company has changed factories in France. “It’s not because it’s an ugly pattern; it’s just a technical problem with production.”