View Cart
Articles > Waterford Crystal
How Waterford Crystal Is Made
Since
fine crystal is made by hand, no two pieces – including pieces
in the same pattern – are identical. Any minute differences
observed between like pieces should be viewed not as imperfections
or flaws, but instead as your proof that each piece has been individually
made by master craftspeople. Rest assured that flawed pieces do
not survive Waterford’s painstaking inspection process: Any
pieces found to contain significant imperfections are fed into the
factory furnace and melted down.
Crystal begins as molten glass to which a metal compound, usually lead oxide, has been added. The lead content of crystal contributes positively to its translucency, clarity, luster, fine edge, ring and color. (In case you may have wondered, lead crystal does not pose any health risks, provided that you refrain from storing liquids – particularly acidic ones – in crystal vessels for extended periods.)
Using a glowing blob of molten glass as a starting point, a glassblower blows through a long tube to shape the interior of the piece, while a handheld mold shapes the exterior. Using only his breath, a master glassblower can control all of the following factors simultaneously: the exterior shape, the interior shape, and the uniform thickness of all its surfaces. Should a piece consists of two parts to be joined together (e.g., foot and bowl pieces), precision teamwork is mandatory; both parts must be delivered at the same time to a master craftsman, who must finish fusing the two parts together while the crystal is still hot and malleable.
When the glassblower has finished molding glass pieces of the correct shape and thickness, they are delivered to teams of glasscutters. Master cutters maintain an entire catalog of designs and patterns in their heads, carving them from memory. Wherever a pattern calls for Waterford’s signature wedge cuts, the cutters employ special diamond-tipped cutting wheels. Should a piece be especially large or intricately patterned, it may keep an entire team of cutters busy for several days.
The key to consistent quality is never skipping a step, and no piece leaves the premises before a cutter has carved a 16–point star into its base. Throughout the company’s history, this distinctive 16-point star has branded every finished crystal piece as genuine Waterford.