LORD Piers Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood of Barlaston is the 13th descendant of Josiah Wedgwood, the potter extraordinaire, who founded an internationally acclaimed name in tableware. He travels the world creating an awareness of Wedgwood and was in India last year, staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel, where The Wedgwood Shop is located, checking out the market.

He dispels the notion that the Indian would not buy something that is perceived as traditionally English and that which is relatively high priced. �One of our brands, Wedgwood Home, carries a mid-price range of tableware and cookware designed for the dishwasher, microwave and oven use,� he says. �The criteria that we try to preserve at every level are quality, design and craft. Besides, people think we are traditional because they have not seen our full range. We have also developed designs with a contemporary look.�

Indeed, Wedgwood has. There are chopsticks, rice bowls, the whole works for the Asian food market. Over the years, though Wedgwood has developed a wide range of products, Lord Wedgwood admits that the trademark blue pottery is the one that promptly comes to mind every time. �Jasper is certainly the most sought after range of ornamental ware and has been made continuously from the 18th century till today.�

He was in the army when Wedgwood was celebrating its 250th anniversary. �At that point in my life I was contemplating change,� says Lord Wedgwood. �It so happened that I enjoyed the celebrations and they prompted the career change 20 years ago. Today I travel everywhere, every month, every week, as a spokesman for Wedgwood.

He is delighted with the response Wedgwood is getting in India, and also overwhelmed by the statement it is making. The interest and recognition of it excites Lord Wedgwood. The close cultural ties between UK, which is where Wedgwood is from, and India, which is very crafts-oriented, has brought about recognition of Wedgwood�s quality, design and craft.

But with Wedgwood, longevity is a key issue, says Lord Wedgwood. They have customers bringing back dinner sets which date back to 1800s. But Wedgwood is not about just buying a dinner set. �Something about our product makes people want to know more about us. People have an emotion with Wedgwood,� says the scion of the tableware company.

Recently Wedgwood has gone in for major reorganisation through which it has developed a strong based for future development. Today it has Britain�s most up-to-date pottery factory where production successfully combines handcraftsmanship with modern production methods. Corporate merger with Waterford in 1986 and the subsequent acquisition of a major stake in Rosenthal, the major German ceramic company, makes Waterford Wedgwood the largest and most renowned luxury crystal and ceramic company in the world.

He talks about himself, he has a little daughter, Alexandra, who is just 13 years old, and he doesn�t know what she will choose to do. �I had no pressure to take over the family business,� says Lord Wedgwood, �and I will not apply pressure on her.� He feels very connected with the business, the people, the product. �It feels natural,� says Lord Wedgwood.

�We are the biggest company in the business, but we are not that big to make for impersonality. One may not know everyone, but it is a close-knit organisation. It is somewhat like the atmosphere that prevails here at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay.�

And he compares the art of fine and gracious living at a luxury hotel like the Taj with Wedgwood products. �We are all dashing around caught up in the drama of living and succeeding in this day and age. But after a day�s work, one wants to come back to something that is elegant, stylish... be it traditional or contemporary... something like this, like Wedgwood.�