Photos

This was taken at the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford, Ireland. It was originally founded in 1783 by George and William Penrose. Its crystal, particularly the chandeliers and tableware, quickly became world-renowned. Chandeliers hang in Windsor Castle, Westminister Abbey and the Kennedy Center. More recently, Waterford made the 600 glass globes that adorn the giant New Year's Eve Ball that is dropped each year in Times Square. The Waterford company also makes numerous famous sporting trophies, such as the Masters Series shield trophies awarded to winners of tennis Master Series tournaments and the trophies for the French and German Formula One Grand Prix. All manufacturing now takes place at the main factory in Kilbarry, Waterford City, where about 1,000 people are employed. The apprenticeship program which employees must undertake to become master craftsmen is demanding and can take decades. Each of the designs require extreme precision in the glass cutting, seen here, and craftsmen have to be familiar with many different designs. You can see the grid lines on the piece being etched here if you look closely. The company doesn't sell "seconds," so all pieces not meeting the exacting standards are recycled. I remember talking to one craftsman who looked like a bodybuilder; his upper body musculature was incredible because of his days spent sculpting glass... surprising, but impressive.