The clinking of cups and saucers also means the jingling of coins in pockets

In the world of ceramics its name has long reflected the quality you would attach to handbags by Hermes, watches by Rolex or suits by Pierre Cardin. Many of China's well-to-do have gradually cottoned on to that fact.

So much so that since the British ceramics maker Wedgwood (Josiah Wedgwood and Sons) opened its first store in China, in Shanghai's Printemps, in 1996, its business has grown steadily. It now has 30 stores throughout the country.

In turn, other British ceramics manufacturers have realized the Chinese have developed a taste for the finest ceramics and that there is money to be made.

Chinese visitors select British bone china products at Harrods in London.[Photo/China Daily]

Wedgwood's customers are middle class and upper middle class, says Laura Roberts, a company spokeswoman. Apart from Beijing and Shanghai, cities in which Wedgwood has a presence include Changchun, Jilin province, Changsha, Hunan province, and Chengdu, in Sichuan.

The Financial Times says barely 2 percent of the sales of the ceramics manufacturer, Denby Pottery Co Ltd, were outside its core markets in Britain in 2010 but, by last year, that figure had shot up to 20 percent, much of the growth being in China.

British trade figures show ceramics exports to non-EU countries are bouncing back, after falling to 80 million pounds ($122 million) in 2009. Last year they had risen to more than 100 million pounds.

Simon Willis, sales and marketing director of British Royal Crown Derby, says of the Chinese market: "Sales are continually growing. Great progress has been made, with a particular increase in the past two years because the market has developed."

The British companies have been able to push into China through local department stores and distributors but have also benefited from the rise in the number of Chinese traveling to Britain.

"Chinese customers are always (going) to Wedgwood because it is such an iconic British brand," says Jordan Payrce, a sales assistant at the Wedgwood shop in Harrods of London.

Pointing to one popular collection, Payrce says: "They love this collection because they are English hand paintings. The decoration is typically English. These patterns date back to the 1930s. They buy these as real show pieces (and) they are proud to have them at home."

Wedgwood now has two Mandarin-speaking sales assistants in Harrods because of the numbers of Chinese customers, he says.

Li Li, a Chinese tourist in her 30s, bought a teacup and saucer collection with floral decorations in the store.

"My husband likes British bone china, which is of high quality and has a good reputation, so I'm buying this for him," she says.

Another Chinese visitor from Hong Kong, in her 60s, says: "What I like is the quality. More importantly, the unique design of the bone china, the cups and teapots."

Willis says the number of Chinese visitors to Harrods has grown in particular as a result of events concerning the British royal family.

"The diamond jubilee of her majesty the queen last year received great interest and sales grew as a result. This year we have a royal baby and we have developed an iconic range of products to mark this historic event, so we predict sales will continue to grow."

While china has dominated the ceramics industry for thousands of years, a surge of interest among Chinese people in recent years has been fueled by the increase in travel and prosperity, Willis says.

"I am sure that is set to continue for many years to come."

In June the World Tourism Organization said China is the fastest-growing tourism source market, with Chinese travelers increasing from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million last year. Their overseas spending totaled $102 billion, it says.

"Because the retail infrastructure evolves and more of the population travels around the world, we are seeing a variety of new opportunities arise," Willis says.

Chinese people travel to the UK and experience British afternoon tea culture, shop in central London's shopping malls and see the bone china brands. Those are the brands they then want to take home.