This iconic product is found world wide and is recognized for its premium quality. We got the factory tour and would give it a 6 out of 10. Too many folks were on the tour so it was impossible to see everything and hear the narration as the group got spread out. Many of the areas are narrow and some were noisy so between the three of us we got maybe 50% of the information. One tidbit we were able to gather is that the lead quantity ion this glass is 24%. The guide assured me that no lead is in the sir where the glass cutting gets done. There is a sister factory in Slovenia where the commercial quantities of glass is made and the work in Ireland is mostly singe items or low production quantities. Leslie was able to find a fantastic sparkly necklace to take with her.
Deer on the driving range
#4 is so fancy
A large monument
Heads in the boat!
We will be back later for lunch
These cousins, one from England and one from Australia asked me to take their picture. So I did
Another finely painted building
Hopefully these are two different people, who would want to go through life as O'Shea O'Toole?
That so many people take the time to plant flowers is encouraging
The new in with the old
In the tour waiting area are the most elaborate creations from Waterford
This saxophone has 30 pieces
The violin is actually strung and could be played
American Football
This was a nice selection of colored glass
These reminded us of our Wedding gifts from Lauri and Ken
Mamma whale and calf
Black glass and lavender too
What time is it? Waterford Crystal time!
There are five major job classifications. Glass blower, engraver, carver, polisher and cutter. Each apprenticeship lasts 8 years
Part of the saxophone mold
The kept some of the molds after they had been used to make a trophy. Here is is the American Football Helmet
For very small production numbers the molds are made of Ash wood
Justin sponsors a golf tournament
The details of a grand trophy
Some raw crystal straight out of the mold
Hot stuff
The workers rotate so that no individual has to be in front of the hot oven
The metal blow tube is somehow insulated so it does not get hot itself
With a fresh puff of air
Going into the mold
More air
Filling the mold
Out it comes
After a day of cooling off slowly the next step starts
Showing the steps of the process
If any imperfection, blemish or irregularity is found in any step of the process the piece is scrapped
Large bags of raw materials
Marking the blank before cutting
Its a basketball, Jones
A tile from the Times Square ball
How many sharpies do they run through in a month
All the cutting is done by hand and by memory
Different wheels give different types of cuts
Cutting wheels of many different styles
This astronaut is not blown but sculpted by a glass carver
Need a hand anyone?
Gramophone 28 pieces
A Gibson guitar three months of work and still in process
A show off showcase. One of these was a copy of the one they gave to Barak Obama. The Irish government sends a Waterford Crystal vase to the US president every year on St Patty's Day
A blank of crystal that the whale is going to swim out of
A huge Irish Harp
A Van Gogh Starry Night vase
Copper wheels with a carborundum coating
Surfer trophy
We finished up the tour with a 9-11 memorial
