Waterford Crystal

Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of crystal. It is named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. Waterford Crystal is owned by WWRD Group Holdings Ltd., a luxury goods group which also owns and operates the Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands. WWRD was acquired 2 July 2015 by the Fiskars Corporation.

In January 2009 its Waterford base was closed down due to the bankruptcy of the Wedgwood Group. After several difficulties and takeovers, it re-emerged later that year. In June 2010, Waterford Crystal relocated almost back to its original roots, on The Mall in Waterford City. This new location is now home to a manufacturing facility that melts over 750 tons of crystal a year. This new facility offers visitors the opportunity to take guided tours of the factory and also offers a retail store, showcasing the world's largest collection of Waterford Crystal.

The origins of the crystal production in Waterford dates back to 1783 when George and William Penrose started their business. It produced extremely fine flint glass that became world-renowned. However, their company closed in 1851.

In 1947, Czech immigrant Charles Bacik, grandfather of Irish senator Ivana Bacik, established a glass works in the city. Skilled crystal workers were not available in Ireland so continental Europeans were used. Aided by fellow countryman and designer Miroslav Havel, the company started operations in a depressed Ireland. By the early 1950s it had been taken over as a subsidiary of the Irish Glass Bottle company, owned by Joseph McGrath, Richard Duggan and Spencer Freeman of the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake, heavy investors in Irish business at that time.

In 1970 John Aynsley and Sons was taken over by Waterford and renamed Aynsley China Ltd.

Jasper Conran began designing his signature range of crystal for Waterford in 1999. The endeavour has evolved into four unique lines for Waterford and a complementary tableware collection in fine bone china for Wedgwood in 2001. The Chinese fashion designer John Rocha started designing a range of cut crystal stemware and vases in collaboration with glass designer Marcus Notley in 2001.

...
Wikipedia