Augustus the Strong sends 600 Saxon cavalrymen to Frederick William I, King of Prussia, in exchange for 151 pieces of porcelain from the palaces of Charlottenburg and Oranienburg. Consequently, the market value of porcelain is fixed: Four men on horse are worth one vase.

Wilhelm Caspar Wegely, a Berlin wool merchant, draws up a fairly immodest wish list for the Prussian king. Not only does he want the privilege of setting up a porcelain production company in Berlin, he also wants the Commander's House in Friedrichstraße as a gift, including its rear garden, the bastion and the embankment in between. In addition, he demands an exemption from duties on the production of necessary materials and the assurance that the king will not grant permits to any competitors.

Just seven days after Wegely wrote his letter, Frederick II approves the request and adds this free gift: So that the arcanum, the formula for producing porcelain which is guarded like a state secret, is not revealed, customs officials are not even permitted to take a look in Wegely's barrels. The king allows Wegely to administer an oath to his employees promising to guard the secret. This generosity stems from economic reasons: The market value of the "white gold" is thus increased.

The new factory is not even fully complete when production commences. The entrepreneur Wegely is provided with building materials free of charge; he only has to pay for further work on them. The trademark "W" is applied to Wegely's porcelain. Talented individuals are lured away from competitors. Porcelain sculptor Ernst Heinrich Reichard becomes the chief modeller.