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How to Tell if Your Porcelain Cake Topper is Good Quality

What are some ways to tell if you are buying a good quality porcelain cake topper?

First off, porcelain is porcelain. There isn't good or bad; just different kinds. When it comes to cake toppers, what you are going to want to look for is how the figurine is made.

Is it Porcelain?: First, you are going to want to check the material the cake topper you are buying is made out of. This will often be in the item description. Some of the most popular materials cake toppers are made of are porcelain, resin, & acrylic.
Look at the hands and ears: Porcelain cake toppers are made from molds. After being used for a long time, molds lose their ability to produce detailed figurines. If the hands and ears look more like blobs or you can't distinguish fingers or the curve of the ear, it means the manufacturer has been using a mold for too long.
The Paint Job: If a maker is not paying attention to the detail, there may be some mess ups with the paint. It would be more obvious with ethnic figurines, but a lower quality porcelain topper may have the paint intended for the skin, on the white wedding dress. This, of course, should not be happening!
It's in the details!!: Some cake toppers are going to be better than others based solely on the little details. Take the one featured above; part of what makes it so great is the Swarovski crystal that is used as hair accessories and on the wedding band. If a figurine is offering special ornamental motifs like this, you are looking at a porcelain cake topper of higher quality.
Honestly, you are going to get what you pay for: Unless there is an amazing sale, it is likely that the price of the porcelain cake topper is going to reflect the quality of time and attention that is given to that piece. So if you are spending $50 on a cake topper it is going to be worth that $50, just like if you are paying $100 or if you are paying $20.

If you are shopping online, you are not going to be able to tell what the quality of your individual topper is. Keep in mind that the cake toppers featured in the photos are from the very first time the mold is used, and represent the maker's best work. Often, return policies on wedding accessories can be strict, so you are going to want to pay attention to your shop's return policy. At Wedding Collectibles, we sell from a wide range of wedding cake toppers from different manufactures, and do our best to provide you with the best cake toppers, but also provide options to some that may have more affordable prices. If you have your eye on one of the cake toppers we sell, take a look at our return policy by following the link here.

If you have any further questions of how to judge if your cake topper is of high quality, feel free to ask below or give us a call!

Posted on March 21, 2014

So...What is the Difference Between Porcelain and Resin?

This is a common question at Wedding Collectibles because most wedding cake toppers are going to be made of one or the other. To answer this question I will go over the qualities of both, noting some pros and cons of each. It is important, however, to know that whether you should buy a porcelain cake topper versus a resin cake topper will depend more on what is important to you. Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made similar to the way that glass is made, involving heating or firing of material such as clay.If it breaks, you will notice that the texture of the broken surface will feel powdery, demonstrating that the material is made of smaller materials or grans. However, unless it is dropped or hit with something it isn't going to break. Porcelain is a material that doesn't ware away or in anyway disintegrate. These are known for being a high quality cake topper. Why?

Porcelain lasts longer. The color and shape won't fade or distort (unless you drop it and it breaks!)

Like most things, there are some disadvantages to Porcelain cake toppers as well.

The major disadvantage is that is can't hold edges very well. What this means is that if the edge or detail is too thin, it will collapse on itself. If you have a porcelain cake topper, you do not need to worry about this happening. This would only occur while making the figurine, meaning that it limits the kind of details you are going to find in the cake topper.
Expensive Material. High quality porcelain cake toppers do tend to be more expensive, but not necessarily out of budget. If you are looking for a long lasting keepsake, porcelain is well worth the money!

Resin

Resin or Stone Resin is an increasingly popular material for wedding cake toppers and figurines. Why?

Resin can be intricately detailed, meaning that your cake topper can have more detail.
It can be cheaper than porcelain, but still maintain a similar look.* (See exemption in Cons below!)

Some Cons for Resin cake toppers

Resin actually yellows over time, so if you buy a resin cake topper you may find the white to be looking a little less...white. If you display it in an area that has a lot of sun, your cake topper will easily be yellowed within a year. Whether it sits in the sun or not, it will yellow, the sun just speeds up the process.This is why if you plan on your cake topper being a keep sake that you will have around for a lifetime or more, you may want to look at something other then Resin.
The cost is increasing! Resin is most basically a high grade plastic. For a long time this meant that the cake toppers could be made at a lower cost, but the cost of this material is going up. Making the cost difference between Resin and Porcelain to not be so much of a difference.

You will find wedding cake toppers made of both materials because you can get a high quality cake toppers with each. Whether one is better than the other will depend on what you want to focus on. If you are looking for a top of the heap porcelain cake topper, Lenox is known for producing high quality porcelain. Then, one of the most popular makers of resin cake toppers and figurines that you may be familiar with is Willow Tree. Wedding Collectibles carries both of the above brands and produces our own. We work diligently to produce the best cake toppers at an affordable price. You can trust that affordable, in our case, will not mean sloppy work.

If you have any more questions on these difference please feel free to post below or give us a call!!

Posted on March 10, 2014