Review on 🍵 Classic Elegance: Royal Albert Country Teacup Saucer - Timeless Charm for Your Tea Experience by Zach Sornsin

Two decades ago I brought a cup of Royal Albert Old Country Roses from England. My teenage daughter recently mentioned how much she loved the pattern so I decided to collect her beautiful porcelain service. I bought this mug and 3 piece tea set and plan on buying them for the next couple of years. First of all, this "cup" is shaped more like a coffee cup. I checked the Royal Albert website and they also sell this item as a teacup. My original English cup has a much wider rim, which I'm more familiar with. (Coffee cups traditionally have vertical sides, while tea cups are more triangular, with narrow bases and wide rims.) The gold rim suits and stylistically matches my English piece. Other reviewers noted that small details are disappointing. I agree. If you look at the photos (left is the English mug, right is this mug), you will notice that the colors of the English mug are more vibrant and look hand-painted. This mug is still beautiful, but the colors appear flat in comparison, more like a screenprint than a painting. The English cup has a conspicuously ridged top edge, and this cup has a very thin ridge that looks more like a manufacturing defect than an intentional detail. The English mug has rose branches around the inside rim, while this mug only contains one branch. This mug's logo is also off-center. Incidentally, the logos and text on the English and this cup are identical, except that the English cup uses lighter colors. They both read "Old Country Roses, Royal Albert (R) Bone China, (c) 1962 Royal Albert Ltd". My English mug was made circa 1994 and this mug was said to be made in 2017 or 2018. I wonder if I've been scammed? Is this a genuine Royal Albert item? I bought the tea set shown in the background of one of the photos from a reputable and reputable dealer. The colors and details are exactly the same as this mug and they are just as inferior to my English made mug. I also looked at the design on Royal Albert's website. My concern is that Royal Albert is simply making lower quality items these days with fewer parts and [allegedly] cheaper manufacturing processes. If you've never seen Royal Albert Old Country Roses, you'll love this cup and saucer set. If, like me, you have English items but are helping someone put together a new set, you probably have to chuckle and accept the loss of quality. Objectively this is a well made item and feels genuine and premium. If you are looking to replace part of an English set then you can look for an English made replacement, although it might not hurt to buy this cup and saucer set to compare.