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new partnership with his brothers James and Samuel, and
his son-in-law Joseph Walpole. It was George Gatchell
who brought employee George Saunders under the partnership
umbrella.
By 1850, George Saunders had parted with the company
and George Gatchell began to despair about the company's
future. In an effort to save the business, George wrote
a letter to a relative. We "must now either get a
partner with adequate capital, sell or stop work finally."
Hoping to gather interest in the company, he also sent
a magnificent entry to the Great Exhibition in the aptly
named Crystal Palace in London.
Unfortunately, the factory was forced into closure in
1851 because of draconian taxes and lack of capital and
investors. Until the day the doors closed, the factory
consistently turned out exceptional pieces for sixty-eight
years.
Ninety-six years later, in 1947, after WWII, a small
factory was set up in Ballytruckle, not far from the original
Penrose glasshouse. They grew quickly and soon needed
a larger site, moving closer to the city to an area called
Johnstown. Apprentices were initially trained by immigrant
craftsmen from the Continent. One such craftsman was called
Miroslav Havel, who put in 41 years with the company,
and is credited with creating Waterford's most famous
designs, Lismore, Colleen and Kildare.
Incredible success forced a third move. The site of the
original crystal factory was purchased and Waterford Crystal
was reborn. The site today stands on a 40-acre site, over
20 times the size of the original glasshouse.
The factory continued to grow, and in the 1980s the sculpting
department was established where original and intricate
collectors pieces are sculpted from blocks of crystal.
In the early 1990's, the factory had been experiencing
an influx of tourists asking for factory tours, so they
designed a tour where visitors could see the process first
hand. Once the visitors center was opened, their numbers
have doubled annually.
By 1997, the factory was so popular that they opened
the Retail Gallery. This gallery has the largest collection
of Waterford Crystal in the world. Pieces include the
factories many brands, such as Wedgewood Ceramics, Rosenthal
Ceramics, Waterford Writing Instruments, Seahorse Clothing,
the many lines of crystal, including Lismore, Colleen
and Kildare, as well as designer lines, such as that from
John Rocha.
To celebrate the new Millennium, Waterford Crystal was
commissioned by the city of New York to create the Millennium
Ball. The Ball is six feet in diameter, weighs 1070 pounds
and made up of 504 crystal triangles. It replaced the
the original, which was first made in 1907 out of iron
and timber, weighing 700 pounds.
For the 2006 New Year's Eve celebrations, 72 new triangles
were added to the ball featuring the "Hope for Fellowship"
design. These were added to previous six years' additions,
which include "Hope for Wisdom," "Hope
for Unity," "Hope for Courage," "Hope
for Healing," "Hope for Abundance" and
"Star of Hope."
696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid shaped mirrors provide
a spectacular computer controlled light show with an estimated
annual two billion TV audience.
NOTE: After being closed since 2008, Waterford
Crystal has announced they will be opening the Waterford
Crystal Experience in the heart of Waterford City in June
2010:
WWRD Group Holdings Limited, the leading luxury
goods group which owns and operates the Waterford Crystal,
Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands, is delighted to announce
that it has signed an agreement with Waterford City
Council to open a brand new Waterford Crystal manufacturing
facility, retail outlet and visitor centre in the heart
of Waterford city.
Please see the link below for more information and directions.
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