Hi...is this Meissen box a fake?

Hi everyone.
The box is about 4" x 3". The inside lid looks very new, but the ring around the base looks older. The mark is blurry, with two lines through it, suggesting a second quality item. There is a faint impressed number (1260) on the base as well, near the flat foot. I'm inclined, after handling it to think it's fake but wanted other opinions. Thanks!

 

This may help

 

Thanks! So, to be clear, you think it's genuine, despite the pristine condition of the lid?

 

The concern for me would be a fake Chinese or Japanese item, as opposed to a fake by a known company.

 

A faker would be unlikely to put cancel marks on a piece as a cancelled piece is worth a lot less than a perfect piece. As for it looking pristine, it's porcelain, very old pieces can look new if they have been looked after.
I can't see another Meissen piece with this lid anywhere but to me it is not a clear and obvious fake. Not particularly old.

 

Based on what I've read, I think the piece is made by Meissen, but a second. Why would a "faker" go to the trouble of making a Meissen fake and then cross it out as a second?

I do have a question. As a second, are "second" pieces decorated by another company, or are they still decorated by Meissen? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

I don’t know to be honest. Hopefully someone else may.

 

It could have been the decoration that caused it to be listed as a second. Herend sells a lot of pieces as seconds, not because there is anything wrong with the blank, but because the decoration was not up to standards. I have no idea, though, if Meissen followed the same policy.

I suppose a possibility is that the base was decorated by one person and the lid by another. When Meissen put them together they saw too many inconsistencies in the decoration and marked it as a second.

Or it could be the difference you noted between the lid and the base caused Meissen to reject it. I better stop before I spend all afternoon speculating. I do like the box, though, I think it's cute.

 

Thanks for all your help. I do appreciate it!