The Waterford Flint Glass Manufactory, as it was originally known, was established in Waterford, Ireland, in 1783. Business was good. So much so that very shortly the company, now called Waterford Crystal, re-located to its current home on a forty-acre site.

The excellence of Waterford Crystal is achieved by their in-house trained, highly skilled workforce. Uniformity is achieved by applying a precise amount of air into each piece of molten crystal at very specific points thus ensuring that each piece is as near perfect as physically possible.

Having completed the cooling process, each piece then has its facets and flutes hand-cut. A cutter’s apprenticeship takes five years to complete during which time every cut on every piece from the Waterford range will have been practiced over and over. A cutter completes his or her apprenticeship by the cutting of the sought-after apprentice bowl. These bowls showcase every type of cut used throughout the Waterford range and, needless to say, are highly prized by any enthusiast.

Waterford Crystal has, for many generations, been the lead crystal choice of the upper crust of European society. Their chandeliers can be found in Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle. In the USA, the centerpiece of each New Years Eve celebration is the Waterford Crystal Ball.

How interesting that the beautiful pieces known as Waterford are created by master craftsmen who spent at least 5 years being apprenticed under the watchful eye of a skilled master. We would like to see God’s method of apprenticing our children, as described in Titus II, become more common in our time.

Source- Steve Benson, Crystal - Its History, Its Excellence Worldartglass.com