Sunday, March 14, 2010

Irish Fact of the Day #10......




Waterford is a city in the Southeast corner of Ireland. A crystal business was originally founded in that city in 1783. It produced extremely fine crystal that became world-renowned. However, their company closed in 1851. In 1947, Czech immigrant Charles Bacik established a glass works in the city, due to the superb reputation of the original glassware. Aided by fellow countryman and designer Miroslav Havel, the company started operations in an economically depressed Ireland.

The brilliance and sparkle of today's Waterford Crystal is emphasized by these designs and further enhanced by the light refracting properties made possible by the unique formula used in blending Waterford's raw materials.

Waterford Crystal chandeliers add unequaled sparkle and light to a myriad of prestigious homes and buildings around the world such as Westminster Abbey, the State Apartments at Dublin Castle, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, Dublin's National Concert Hall, the Governor's Mansion in Maryland and the Houses of Parliament, Melbourne, Australia.It is also used in the Ball that drops in Times Square on New Years. That weighs over 1200 pounds.

Waterford Crystal has had its ups and downs since then. It has been bought, sold, bankrupted, etc. It has now been bought by WWRD Holdings Ltd. The same fine crystal will be made by the group.
The visitor center will re-open again in June 2010.
To Become a Crystal cutter, a person must apprentice for 5 years.

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