ALL THAT SPARKLES...
The world’s finest crystal continues to be made by skilled craftsmen at the House of Waterford Crystal factory, situated in the heart of Waterford City, in Ireland’s Ancient East.
The House of Waterford Crystal scooped the Best Ireland’s Ancient East Tourism Experience (greater than 50,000 visitors) at the Irish Tourism Industry Awards 2019 at a recent awards ceremony in Dublin.
The awards, organised by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, gathered the crème de la crème of the Irish tourism industry together, announcing 15 winning companies as best in their category from 75 shortlisted finalists.
David McCoy, Director of Sales & Marketing at the House of Waterford Crystal expressed delight with winning the award for Best Ireland’s Ancient East Tourism Experience: “This is a great achievement for us and we are delighted to be recognised as winner – tourism is vital for the national and regional economy and we are so pleased to play our part in such a key sector,” he said.
A significant tourist attraction, the House of Waterford Crystal welcomes 200,000 visitors annually from across the world. The factory on the Mall is now a major tourist attraction as well as a crucial business for the Irish economy.
“We have a manufacturing plant and brand experience in Waterford, where we produce crystal and give visitors an opportunity to tour the factory and see how we make our products,” explains David.
The factory in Waterford contains a brand new continuous melt tank furnace that has been tailor-made for Waterford Crystal’s specifications and produces two tonnes of molten crystal every day. It uses leading edge technology to deliver molten crystal of the highest quality for skilled master blowers to hand-shape and hand-blow Waterford Crystal’s range of premium products.
“We have a 12,000 sq ft showroom which represents everything we do in crystal, including a whole section on golf and sport, where we are heavily involved,” says David. “Even though our audience is beyond Ireland in the US, Australia and the UK, everyone at home wants to be part of something that is part of the fabric of Ireland and our heritage. “A lot of thought goes into our products, which are inspired by Irish heritage, by our landscape, our music and the arts. It is not just about the shape or the design of the products, but the stories behind those designs. In many cases, those designs reflect Irish culture in terms of castles, music and art. If you want to recognise a special achievement or give a special gift for a celebration, Waterford is one of the first places people look. In the same way, Waterford is present in so many homes around the world – some very famous home – in lighting and chandeliers.”
Waterford Crystal continues to provide some of the most prestigious trophies to the world’s great sporting events, all made at the facility. The list of famous trophies produced by Waterford Crystal for the sports industry alone is simply staggering; the Irish Open Trophy, the Honda Classic and the Masters Snooker trophy, to name just a few.
Waterford Crystal also designed the spectacular Times Square Ball – a crystal ball which forms a prominent part of a New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square in New York, colloquially known as the ball drop.