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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Crystal Clear in Waterford

Last fall, we were in a group that traveled abroad on a Shades of Ireland tour, focused on that country. Befitting the trip name, a major portion of our travel was an 8-day motor coach tour through Ireland. A previous post highlighted a couple of Ireland's most notable features, its green colors and castles This one spotlights one of its best known imports — Waterford Crystal.

Waterford, an Irish brand dating back to 1783, is celebrated worldwide for its crystal products. Renowned for meticulous craftsmanship and innovative designs, its luxury crystal pieces are featured in the most prestigious events and households.

Waterford Crystal was first established in 1783 on land adjacent to Merchants' Quay in the heart of the harbor town of Waterford, near the present day House of Waterford Crystal. It was founded by brothers George and William Penrose, who opened the first glassmaking factory in Waterford, where their crystal was immediately recognized for its clarity and purity of color. They enjoyed success into the 1800s. In 1853 after 70 years of operating, the Penrose brothers' glass making factory was forced to close.

What most folks don't know is that Waterford Crystal isn't made mainly in Ireland, but has been outsourced to Eastern European countries. Most Waterford crystal is produced in countries including Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany. Waterford is still at the forefront of exquisitely designed, expertly crafted creations. 
The House of Waterford is Waterford’s flagship store, located in the heart of Waterford city in Ireland. It showcases the company's key values of craftsmanship and lets visitors to experience the beauty of Waterford from initial concept to final product.  

This location contains a manufacturing facility that melts over 750 tons of crystal a year and produces more than 45,000 pieces annually using traditional methods. The visitor center has the world's largest collection of Waterford Crystal. Since its June 2010 opening, over 1 million people have visited the facility on guided factory tours. This was one of the optional excursions on our tour.
The first stop on the tour was the mold room which highlighted the ancient art of mold making. Master Blowers shape molten crystal with the use of wooden molds and hand tools, a technique that has remained unchanged through centuries.

Waterford's Master Craftsmen possess exceptional talent. Each must complete an 8-year apprenticeship to learn each skill required for the production process before mastering these techniques through decades of perfection. (This video provides a detailed look at the process; you can skip the beginning ad.) The hand craftsmanship, precision skill and artistic excellence of these craftsmen are core components to transform raw materials into luxury crystal. Interestingly, all were male; no females were seen throughout the factory tour, aside from those in the retail showroom. (An online search failed to find information on whether any females were apprenticed.) 
After a display of molds, the tour continued to the blowing area, where crystal shapes were formed using molds. Master Blowers, as shown above, transformed glowing balls of crystal into shapes before putting them in a 1400-degree furnace. 
Crystal is inspected at each stage of production to ensure that each piece meets exacting standards. There are six inspection areas; only pieces meeting the standards advance to the next stage of production. Failed items are crushed and melted with other crystal making ingredients.
Next came the most interesting area, at least to myself, the marking department is where crystal was marked with a temporary geometric grid to assist a Master Cutter to cut the pattern onto the crystal. We learned that each crystal piece is cut strictly from memory, the lines act as a guideline for precision and accuracy. 

The cutting department is where Master Cutters apply many of the skills learned in their extensive apprenticeship. Amazingly, each pattern must not only be learned but memorized by the cutter during the training, no matter how detailed. Both skill and dexterity are needed to cut patterns. Exact pressure must be applied to make the cut without damaging the integrity of the piece. 
The sculpting department is where pieces of crystal created by the Master Sculptors start out as solid blocks of crystal. Here, Master Craftsmen add intricate detail onto the crystal with sculpting wheels, which transforms blocks of crystal into elegant shapes and figures.
Some examples of sculpting designs
The Master Engraver uses copper wheels to engrave intricate designs onto trophies and limited-edition pieces. This process can take days to complete dependent on the design size and complexity. The type of copper wheel engraving used at Waterford Crystal is called Intaglio, meaning reverse. The deeper the engraving on the crystal, the more prominent and pronounced the detail.
Crystal available for sale in the retail store
The tour ends, as most do, in a shopping area. This 12,000 square feet retail store gives visitors a chance to remember their visit by a purchase to take or ship home. The retail store represents Waterford's entire catalogue of luxury crystal, including an exhibition of world sports trophies. There was no special sales/discount display here.

No purchases made there; however, on another day, I bought this piece of Waterford made of glass instead of crystal, but much more affordable.
Waterford penguin in glass 
You can readily see why this piece held a certain appeal. It now has a prominent place on one of our living room bookcases. 

32 comments:

Tom said...

...I doubt if I'll ever get to this in person. Thanks for for taking me along to see the sights.

Anvilcloud said...

A good tour of a well-known place with quite a history.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Amazing craftsmanship! I love to see any sort of handcrafted art - even if just in pictures!

Barbara Rogers said...

Wonderful to tour that plant! Such beautiful works of art. I never thought about crystal being a different element than glass! Something I learned today!

MadSnapper said...

I did not know that each piece is hand blown, hand carved, etched. no wonder it is so expensive, now I know why. a house we visited for a SS party had a piano in Waterford and it cost over a thousand dollars. I love glass and am happy with just glass. i enjoyed the visit, have never seen anything like this. I would love to go see how they blow glass, there is one in st pete but have not been there

Jon said...

This is absolutely amazing. Wbat beautiful works of art!!

Jon said...

Sorry for the typo. I'm on my cell phone and can hardly see what I'm doing.

Sandra said...

I own quite a bit of Waterford. I gave my DIL my mothers Waterford wine glasses after she died. I did not need anymore. I need to use it, what am I saving it for? I have not had the pleasure of being at the facility, though. This was interesting to me.

photowannabe said...

I would have loved to see how the crystal was made. I didn't realize how everything was done by memory. Amazing..
Love your penguin..
Sue

Rita said...

I have heard of Waterford crystal but didn't know about the history. Was surprised each one is made by hand--wow! Can't imagine what it takes to carve glass like that. Thanks for taking us with. :)

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love the old phonograph player!! I had no idea that they are sourced out now!! And an 8-year apprenticeship, yikes!! Now I am wondering what their salary is like.

Bijoux said...

What an interesting tour. I’ve always enjoyed watching glass blowers, but this is on another level! The penguin is adorable and the perfect keepsake from your trip. I wonder why women have not learned the trade?

kathyinozarks said...

Wow what an awesome experience! I did this on a travel channel not too long ago but so much better to take the tour in person. did they have discounts on their crystal pieces?

DUTA said...

Great exhibits! Interesting pictures of the craftsmen at work!

Emma Springfield said...

Isn't it just beautiful? The workmanship is exquisite.

Marie Smith said...

We really enjoyed the tour too but the last thing we needed was more crystal. So beautiful though.

Debbie said...

your pictures and description of this experience are wonderful. the penguin is the perfect keepsake from your trip, i can certainly understand why you chose it!!

My name is Erika. said...

Visiting Waterford Crystal looks like an interesting stop. We never made it that far south when we traveled to Ireland, but I think it would have been worth the trip. I'm glad you mentioned they had a store and that you didn't buy anything there, because that was a question I had. Hope your enjoying your journey to PEI. hugs-Erika

MARY G said...

What a wonderful exposition. Glass blowing fascinates me and this essay was a source of both joy and a lot of information. Imagine being able to cut those patterns without a guide.
Wow.
Have you ever been to Corning? Also an education, if not as amazing as this.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I am sure it was an interesting visit and you left with a penguin, so that’s hard to beat.

Linda P said...

Thank you for taking us on the Waterford Crystal tour.

gigi-hawaii said...

Excellent photography. I don't buy crystal goblets anymore, because they chip so easily.

Polly said...

Thank you for a very interesting tour Beatrice. Crystal is beautiful, I have a few drinking glasses, I used to have a lovely flower vase but I don't know what happened to it!

Lowcarb team member said...

A very interesting post.
We do have some crystal glasses.
I do like your Waterford penguin.

All the best Jan

Michelle said...

I've been to Ireland twice now, but didn't make it to this tour. Great photos and they make a beautiful product.

Lee said...

Thank you for a most interesting post, Beatrice. I have a Waterford crystal decanter that belonged to my now late mother. I wonder how old it is...

Jeanie said...

I don't think we'll be able to go to Waterford while we're in Ireland but I must confess, it's a spot I'd love to see. Thanks for your wonderful photos and complete information. I love your penguin!

David said...

Hi Beatrice, We didn't visit the Waterford facility when we were driving around Ireland...but we do admire their products and the skills that are needed to create their crystal 'artwork'. We do own one piece of Waterford. Sadly, most youth today don't care much about Waterford or other old time skilled items. We have a lot of antiques and no one on either side of the family wants them...although our son and his wife will take all the books and family art pieces (mostly paintings) that we can offer. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

nick said...

Jenny and I did the tour of Waterford Crystal in 2001. We weren't told that most of the products were made in Eastern Europe and Germany, but maybe that's a recent (and rather disappointing) development. Yes, it would be interesting to know if there are any female glassblowers. The bit of glassware you bought is wonderful.

Veronica Lee said...

This is fascinating!
What exquisite pieces of art!

Happy Friday, Dorothy!

DeniseinVA said...

A great post on Waterford Crystal. I have several pieces that were given to us for a wedding present. They still look as beautiful to me today as they did when we first received them. The only time I have ever seen glass blowing was on a trip to see our family. I was surprised back then they were wearing only sandals doing all this. Talk about a hot foot!

Ludwig said...

Fascinating.
I still have Waterford pieces that I received as giveaways flying to Europe.