British Isles Collection

Hello everyone,

I was at a Harbour Lights dealers website looking for Pharos pieces and came across three lighthouses I had never heard about from Harbour Lights. They were refered to as the "new Harbour Lights British Isles Collection". The lighthouses were; Bishop Rock Lighthouse, Longstone Lighthouse and Old Lundy Lighthouse.

A seach of our Collector Forum and HL's websites turned up nothing.

The web address of the English Harbour Lights dealer is http://www.worldofshopping.com/dept.asp?dept_id=1353

Is this new news or old news?

Thanks,

Jack Wilson

I was going to ask the same thing. I just went to the site and ordered Portland Bill and Ballinacourty and noticed the other three. Hmm...

These are lighthouses made in England geared for sale in the U.K. They are made under the auspices of Harbour Lights but are made of plaster and are definitely different from the Harbour Lights pieces we know and love. I have the Old Lundy piece. The colors appear to be a bit washed out compared to a photo of the real lighthouse but then this lighthouse is rather bland looking anyway but quite distinct. The detail also appears to be a bit lacking when compared to the newer HL pieces. Although I don't have any of the older HL pieces it seems to me to be more reminiscent of some photos of them. These pieces supposedly are limited editions, although they are not numbered. They come packaged in bubble wrap in a plain white box. I like the piece but would not like to recommend its purchase to those expecting it to be of the same high quality that we have become accustomed to. Probably the reason you don't see these lights on the HL site is because they are not true HL's, in the strictest sense.

Here are photos of the three lighthouses for comparison with any photos of the pieces you may find on a dealer's website.

Longstones

Old Lundy

Bishops Rock


Should you decide to purchase any of these be sure to shop around as some dealers charge for shipping and some do not. Shipping as well as overseas phone calls can be quite expensive. Most dealers with websites offer an email option.


[This message has been edited by mombo (edited 07-19-2001).]

Thanks for the info on this "British Isles Collection".

I just ordered mine. I should receive them in a week the sales rep said. Looking forward to see these pieces. If the quality we're used to is lacking, I hope uniqueness isn't.

Thanks for the info Jack! I ordered mine this morning. Tried to order over the internet, but kept getting an error message. Had to go the old fashion route - phone call!

Just a word of warning! They are a lot more breakable because of what they are made of, so handle them with care. Also, you want to make sure that the seller is packing them correctly, as collectors have received some with cheap shipping and there was a reason why it was cheap....

SaintWackoPaul'
Keep the Flame

Thinking about ordering a set of these, and in the case of breakage, with the package coming overseas, is the method of claims for damage goods the same as with the US Postal Service/UPS/FedEx????

Thanks for any info on this!

My 3 pieces arrived Friday. The box was huge!(It probably could have held 8 or 9 pieces!) The box had plenty of packing peanuts and the pieces arrived in excellent shape. From close inspection, you can see the difference between these and the regular Harbour Lights. They are nice and I am glad I got them, but they don't have the quality that we have grown to love from most of the other pieces in our collections!

Randy
Tell us more about them. Do they have the standard Harbour light sticker underneath them? Do they come with a tent card or anything relating it to Harbour lights?
Does the box say Harbour Lights?

Daniel

The above post by Mombo pretty much says it all. The box is plain white with a sticker that has the name Harbour Lights on it. There is no paperwork and no tent cards. The sticker under the light also has HL on it. It is nothing like you expect from "normal" pieces. It is a "work in progress" because they only have a few painters and they don't do mass quantities at one time. At least that is what they told me. I was also told there was a two week delay in getting my pieces because of the above statement. They are nice, but not the quality that we have seen from past pieces.

[This message has been edited by Randy Kremer (edited 08-01-2001).]

Thanks Randy
I wanted to buy the British Isles Collection also. However, you guys cleaned them all out at The World of Shopping. That’s ok my wife said I spent enough with buying the Pharos collection.

I pulled up the enlarged pictures on my 21-inch screen and took a good look at them. It was like looking back into time. They definitely look like the style of the first year Harbour Lights. Especially old Lundy. The description says cold cast resin. Have they been improved?

Daniel

Here's a little better look at the Longstone Lighthouse...

Daniel: I noticed that "cold cast resin" too. Think it must be an error as they are definitely different from the HL's, including the Pharos.

Thanks Paul

The Longstone looks pretty good.

Daniel