The first thing I want to point out in regards to the limoges box industry is that limoges boxes are a craft. As with most crafts it takes hours and hours to cast, mold, fire, paint, fire, repaint, mount, and fire again each color on each  individual piece. The wonderful thing about limoges boxes is that not one limoges box is the same. Each one has it's own humanities and inconsistencies about it. Each one tells its own story.  They are not supposed to be perfect replicas of one another like something that is corporate factory made, for it is the fact that they are made entirely by hand that makes them beautiful. They should be appreciated and understood like an Appalachian mountain wood whittler's hand-carven crafts are appreciated in this country. Limoges making in general is a part of the French culture, tradition, and history.

In determining quality, I want to adamantly stress that it depends more on each individual box than the maker or signature of the piece. For example, I have many people that ask for "Rochard". Rochard is a limoges box importer who hires the limoges factories to create his pieces and sign his name on them. Rochard does have a reputation for contracting the creation of extremely well detailed and decorated pieces that are often very time consuming to create and thus rather pricey. But this high quality creation is true of some other limoges box pieces I have seen. Most often a high quality limoges box is judged by limoges collectors on the detail of line, the conditions and time spent around the creation of that mold, the artistic instinct, and the intricacy involved in making the piece. Yet with this in mind, I would like to stress is that a fine quality limoges box also depends on your own personal taste and symbolic need at the time of purchasing the piece.

I have seen Limoges boxes that I personally like and dislike made and decorated by all the popular makers, factories, artist, and importing signatures. Some people love Artoria for example, who tends to use very bright colorful childlike hues and a brisk painting style in decorating their pieces. Some people prefer a warmer choice in color like Dubarry or Chanille, a realistic, or even an expressionistic approach in painting style like PV. My personal preference tend to be towards pieces that are entirely hand-painted and very intricately decorated, well detailed in line, and grasping a intuitive scope in theme of the piece. That is not to say  that a piece that isn't well detailed is of poorer quality, for I have seen fabulous limoges box pieces that aren't overly detailed in line, and it is this brushing over of detail that makes the theme and artistry of the box ring out. I have found windmill limoges boxes, for example, that were spectacular in containing a windmill that actually spins, and I have seen windmill limoges boxes that were just as beautiful where the windmill is mounted stable into the mold. So in essence, what I am trying to point out is that the finest quality limoges box is most importantly subject to personal taste and symbolic occasion. It is ok to favor a mold and design that doesn't fall in step with the status quo, especially when it is given as a gift, where it holds a more symbolic value of occasion between friends. Humanity is what any craft is suppose to be about, rather than some high priced showmanship of status quo artistry. So in short, trust your own judgment and enjoyment when choosing your limoges piece and please throw the status quo out the window. Enjoy the translucent light porcelain paste and special thin powdery paste that is only found in authentic French porcelain limoges and then let your own personal taste find the one that is perfect for you. When choosing one as a gift, choose it with the recipient in mind and find the style that holds the most value and meaning between you and this special person.