Crystal Swings Back Into Production In Waterford

The world's most famous cut glass is being produced again in the city that gives it its name.

The furnace has been switched back on in Waterford, albeit in a different location and on a much smaller scale.

A new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility has opened in the heart of Waterford city.

The House of Waterford Crystal will produce 40,000 hand-crafted crystal pieces every year.

It also includes a visitor center, where tourists can watch every stage of crystal production and learn about historical and contemporary production techniques from the craftsmen themselves.

The manufacturing facility contains a new continuous melt tank furnace that has been tailor made, and will produce two tons of molten crystal each day.

Leading edge technology then delivers this molten crystal for skilled master blowers to hand-shape and hand-blow into the products.

The visitor center will contain the largest collection of Waterford Crystal anywhere in the world.

It includes an exact replica of the famous Times Square crystal ball, and copies of many prestigious pieces presented to dignitaries and celebrities over the years.

"We look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world to our new centre," said Pierre de Villemejane, the CEO of WWRD, the new owners of the brand, "and to continuing the city of Waterford's extraordinary tradition of producing crystal of the very highest quality."

That tradition looked to have been lost forever, when Waterford Wedgewood went into receivership last year, and the furnace was switched off at its manufacturing plant in Kilbarry, on the outskirts of the city.

The company was sold to a New York investment group, and production moved to Germany and Eastern Europe.

Nearly 500 jobs were lost in the city when the plant closed, and a tradition dating back to the early 1700s in the city appeared to have been lost.

The European Parliament recently approved more than €2.5 million in funding to help re-train workers who were made redundant.

This new facility is the result of an agreement between WWRD and Waterford City Council, which has provided more than €8 million in the project.

It will employ 79 full-time staff and 33 part time workers.