Waterford Crystal Factory

Waterford is famous for Waterford Crystal. To come here and not visit the factory just a short walk away would have people saying huh? to me.

I found it interesting that the company initially produced between 1783 and 1851, then closed. It was revived in 1947. In recent times it has gone through reorganisation and changes of ownership. The current owner is Fiskars, a Finnish firm. Most production is elsewhere, the Waterford site is a visitor centre and small factory.

I had bought my ticket online. You can nominate the session you wish to join. This helps them manage the groups. Our group split into two with a guide for each so that we could hear them.

This is the showroom, administration building and cafe; the previous picture is the actual small factory.

After entering the factory we were shown a multimedia clip about the company. Then we entered the work area. These are wooden moulds for the pieces. Naturally they are scorched. And of course this only gives the piece its rough shape, it still has to be polished and cut.

Where the moulds are used.

The blowers forming the piece from blobs of glass from the furnace.

The next stage in the production line. Strict quality control is exercised here. Defective pieces are not allowed to leave the factory, the glass is melted and reused. So there are no Waterford "seconds".

After cutting, a very heavy replica of an American football. 

It's apt that terms like polishing, cutting, and crystal are used; the lead glass is more like gemstone than normal glass and very hard. I find it fascinating that lead, what we regard as a very opaque metal, becomes transparent when mixed with silica in crystal.

A display of intricate pieces. That's of course a Celtic cross in the middle.

How many hours of painstaking work went into these life size musical instruments?

One of their popular products is the Apprentice Bowl, which is a final test for fifth year apprentices. It requires 600 precision cuts, all done by hand

More in the same display.

Leaning to the everyday.

Pieces are also made in response to world events.

After that we exited via the showroom where you can purchase Waterford to take home with you. I'm sure that if you can afford the prices of the larger collections and pieces you can also afford the shipping.

Like these pieces for example.

Most people are more likely to buy the table collections.

Collections have names and the Lismore Short Stories in a previous photo is one.