Known as the fifth invention of China, porcelain, a ceramic made by heating raw materials generally consisting of clay in the form of kaolin, used to enjoy high esteem among European aristocrats since it was first shipped there in the late 13th century. King Augustus II the Strong of Poland, for example, once traded a troop of 600 elite soldiers for 150 porcelain temple jars.

Industrious attempts to reproduce what had been termed "white gold", however, quickly outshone Chinese porcelain in the following centuries in Europe, which led to the creation of the current top china brands such as Meissen and later Wedgewood, leaving the original a limited presence in the market.

"It's just like the Chinese copying LV bags today. What is pathetic is that we don't have any original 'LV china' anymore," said Chen.

While it remains "unaffecting" for Chen if Franz becomes the latter day LV china, the company has earned quite a place in Europe and the United States.

One year after the brand was established and headquartered in the US, it was recognized at the 2002 New York International Gift Fair with the Best in Show award, which Chen believed is a "golden stepping stone" for the company to expand in the overseas market.

Since then, chinaware with the logo of a seagull and the blue-inked "Franz" has quickly garnered a total of 6,000 point-of-sales outlets in 56 countries and regions including US luxury store Saks Fifth Avenue.

Although Chen declined to reveal any information about company revenues, saying it is still a family business, and he doesn't want to "invite competitors by depicting what a lucrative market it is", it is true to say the company has been enjoying "double-digit growth" throughout the past decade, even during the global economic recession in 2008, which led to centuries-old brands such as the Anglo-Irish Wedgewood suffering severe financial difficulties.

In China, where it now has almost 150 retail stores, the company's sales have increased at a speed of 40 percent every year. It has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, gift sellers both in terms of store numbers and revenue in domestic department stores.

The secret of its success, apart from abundant experience in original equipment manufacturing, is "an integration of Chinese aesthetics and state-of-the-art technique", Chen said.