Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 14th January 2008, 08:59 PM

OK Pak Oesman---I thought you were on arak there for a minute.

Yeah, I've seen the Ceper stuff. My memory of it is that it is not as finely finished (read:- as cleverly deceitful) as the pieces I've seen from East Jawa. I was told exactly where these were being made, but I've forgotten.

I actually have a relative who owns some factories in Bandung one of which produces very excellent ripoffs of very famous Italian handbags and leather goods, another produces Italian shoes. They do not get the labels applied in Bandung, but are shipped out to the orderer who then completes the process of forgery.

You know, back in the 1970's you could trade Levis jeans for anything in Bali, and it didn't really matter if they were a bit worn. These days I always buy one or two pairs of jeans every time I go to Bali. Mostly these "Bali Levis" are better cut, better sewn, and the denim is better wearing than the real thing.But you need to shop around a bit, because there's some rubbish being offered too.

My big complaint with Indonesian manufacture of anything is that they do not control quality consistently. There is a pattern that repeats and repeats and repeats:- the product will be made, and after a teething period it will usually achieve excellence, but once that excellence has been achieved there will be a slow and imperceptible deterioration until it reaches the point where the orderer will not accept it. Then the producer will raise the quality again to a level where it is barely acceptable. This happens on a one-man, small scale level, and exactly the same in big business. It is a "pasar" approach to trade, in that it seeks to provide the minimum product for the maximum price, and has been the subject of several government and trade organisation investigations and reports. Pity, because the potential is there.

That nuclear business worries me a bit. I saw the other day they're going ahead with the reactor up on the north coast. Not good . Not good at all.

14th January 2008, 08:59 PM	#50
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,982	OK Pak Oesman---I thought you were on arak there for a minute. Yeah, I've seen the Ceper stuff. My memory of it is that it is not as finely finished (read:- as cleverly deceitful) as the pieces I've seen from East Jawa. I was told exactly where these were being made, but I've forgotten. I actually have a relative who owns some factories in Bandung one of which produces very excellent ripoffs of very famous Italian handbags and leather goods, another produces Italian shoes. They do not get the labels applied in Bandung, but are shipped out to the orderer who then completes the process of forgery. You know, back in the 1970's you could trade Levis jeans for anything in Bali, and it didn't really matter if they were a bit worn. These days I always buy one or two pairs of jeans every time I go to Bali. Mostly these "Bali Levis" are better cut, better sewn, and the denim is better wearing than the real thing.But you need to shop around a bit, because there's some rubbish being offered too. My big complaint with Indonesian manufacture of anything is that they do not control quality consistently. There is a pattern that repeats and repeats and repeats:- the product will be made, and after a teething period it will usually achieve excellence, but once that excellence has been achieved there will be a slow and imperceptible deterioration until it reaches the point where the orderer will not accept it. Then the producer will raise the quality again to a level where it is barely acceptable. This happens on a one-man, small scale level, and exactly the same in big business. It is a "pasar" approach to trade, in that it seeks to provide the minimum product for the maximum price, and has been the subject of several government and trade organisation investigations and reports. Pity, because the potential is there. That nuclear business worries me a bit. I saw the other day they're going ahead with the reactor up on the north coast. Not good . Not good at all.