Waterford, Ireland

Yet another cloudy, chilly day in beautiful Ireland, but oh so educational – probably one of the most interesting factory tours we’ve ever taken and of course, I’m referring to Waterford Crystal. Before getting into that, a little info on our arrival and the city itself.

After navigating a narrow, shallow river stretching 8 miles inland from the Irish Sea, we were docked and cleared by 9:00am. We were both a little tired as last evening, some folks we’ve met twisted our arms and ‘forced’ us up to the Crow’s Nest around 8:30 for a nightcap. They knew my normal bedtime is 9:00, but somehow, they managed to overextend my (our) stay by a few hours. We changed venues around midnight and ended up joining some of the crew members and musicians following a private party Holland America had arranged for them. It wasn’t until 1:30am we were back in our cabin – then up and seated at the breakfast table by 6:30. Short night – but lots of laughter and fun! In particular, a gal by the name of Erma & her granddaughter, Shannon, from the DFW area…we’ve grown very attached to both of them over the past several days, along with two of our four tablemates.

So, with toothpicks holding our eyelids open, we were on a Holland America free shuttle shortly after 9am to Waterford city center – about a 15-minute drive.

With a population of roughly 52,000, Waterford is currently the fifth most populous city in Ireland…the oldest city…and was founded in the 9th century by the Vikings. It's not just history that makes Waterford such a compelling destination. The city is also known for its craft beers, such as Metalman Irish Craft Beer; blaas – delicious white floury bread rolls, unique to Waterford; and, Waterford Crystal - one of the world's most prestigious cut-glass brands. Glass, or crystal, was manufactured in the city from 1783 until early 2009, when the factory here was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood. The Waterford Crystal visitor center in the Viking Quarter opened in June 2010, after the intervention of Waterford City Council and Waterford Chamber of Commerce.

Historically, Waterford was an important trading port which brought much prosperity to the city throughout the city's eventful history. Waterford Port is Ireland's closest deep-water port to mainland Europe, handling approximately 12% of Ireland's external trade by value. Waterford's most famous export, Waterford Crystal, is an internationally known and highly sought after product that was manufactured in the city from 1783 to 2009, and again from 2010 to the present day.

The Irish economic recession from 2008 onward has had a major negative impact on Waterford's economy. Even Ireland’s iconic Guinness (as in stout ale) succumbed to rising costs in 1997 when the company merged with the London-based British conglomerate, Grand Metropolitan, to become Diageo.

Once off the bus, we walked the riverside area for awhile before heading to our primary destination – Waterford Crystal Factory. The ancient craft of making wooden molds for shaping hand-blown molten crystal is still used today in the production process at the House of Waterford. What made this tour so special for us, was that our small group of about a dozen had a very knowledgeable guide - we could leisurely stroll through the production facility – there were no partitions separating us from the workers – we could touch/hold the products, and take as many photos as we desired.

Incredibly, each employee must go through a 5-year apprenticeship, followed by an additional 3 years of training before they are given a final exam. So…an EIGHT YEAR education BEFORE they are allowed to actually produce any product themselves. If they fail their final exam, they’re given a later opportunity to re-test, but all must demonstrate the highest level of production expertise. Eighty to ninety full-time and thirty-three part-time staff members, with 30-40 temporary staff during peak seasons, annually produce 40,000 hand-crafted high-end pieces from 750 tons of full lead crystal using traditional methods. Using a diamond-tipped wheel and an abundance of skill and dexterity, Master cutters painstakingly cut the full lead crystal (a combination of sand, potash and red lead) to pattern specifications. Too much, or too little pressure, and the cutter will have to start all over again. Before cutting, a temporary geometric grid is marked on each piece of crystal via a machine in preparation for the intricate designs that will make the piece distinctively Waterford.

Most of Waterford’s commemorative pieces are manufactured in this factory, one of only a few Waterford Prestige Factories. There were quite a few commemorative pieces in production and on display throughout the factory. And the collection was exquisite! For example, we were actually able to hold The People’s Choice Award, NBA trophy, and other delicate (but huge) celebratory awards. Check out the photos below. The showroom oozed old money. Even with my sixty-plus years, my money wasn’t old enough to buy anything but minimal access to this high class club. Cheryl and I were more of the frame of mind ‘take only memories (aka, pictures); and leave nothing but footprints.’ We looked for Christmas ornaments, and found several very beautiful pieces…but again, left only footprints.

Time being what it is (a nebulous concept at best, a beast when it comes to aging), if an alien 65 million light years away is looking at us through a telescope right now, then they are actually looking at dinosaurs. No, I can’t really elaborate on that statement (remember, I did admit to time being a very nebulous concept), but I can relate. When I retired a few years ago, my employees undoubtedly considered me a dinosaur, although they were too polite to say otherwise! From their adolescent galaxy I was certainly light years behind the times, a fading star rapidly on my way to becoming cosmic dust in the wake of the next generation. Through their generosity, I went home with a few pieces of Waterford Crystal at the end of thirty-two years on the job; time was now officially my own, a commodity as priceless as the Waterford Crystal in our dining room cabinet. Who knew time on my own would actually include a visit to the House of Waterford Crystal! With that said, you should know that most Waterford Crystal, because of cheaper labor, is now produced outside Ireland in countries such as Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany…producing many patterns of lead crystal stemware, including lines such as Adare, Alana, Colleen, Kincora, Lismore, Maeve, Tramore, and many others.

Don’t you just love karma, especially when it doesn’t involve the fickle finger of fate?

Well, there was one little piece of karma that was a bit fickle; or think of it as a hangnail. My Waterford crystal wasn’t really made in Waterford, Ireland. While lead crystal cut glass and glassware has been made in Waterford, Ireland since the 18th century (I’m so middle class; I thought Waterford was somewhere in England all these years), most of the high-end, quality art glass, including our very own hard-earned pieces (one of the few we own), is now produced outside the Republic of Ireland, in countries such as Slovenia, Czech Republic and Germany. It’s not made in Waterford! Our Slovakian displays just don’t seem to have the same ring as Waterford crystal. I mean…is champagne simply sparkling wine if it doesn’t originate in France’s Champagne region?

Woe is me!

Well…to offer a little more history…woe was Waterford during the financial crisis of 2008; Waterford Crystal, Wedgewood and Royal Daulton went into receivership as part of the WWRD Holdings, Ltd. during the crisis. Few families in Waterford and surrounding suburbs went untouched by the economic fallout. In February, 2009 the U.S. equity firm KPS Capital bought WWRD Holdings, Ltd. This uniquely European enterprise representing generations of quality craftsmen (the city of Waterford is older than all the North European capitals except London and Paris) became the sole property of those Yankees across the pond, with the exception of the factory and new Visitor’s Center in Waterford, Ireland. Those two properties remained in the hands of the House of Waterford.

We like our little Waterford gems I was awarded a few years ago. To us, they’re priceless - they sit in our dining room cabinet - a beautiful reminder, courtesy of Waterford and my former employer, of just how fulfilling my life's work. And if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing – someone’s got to sell Twinkies & gasoline, right?!

Today, Waterford is the site of a number of multinational companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Bausch & Lomb, Nypro Healthcare, Genzyme, Hasbro, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Honeywell International. With that said, it’s not a modern city by any stretch. In fact, we found it to be a little lackluster & dreary – but very nice folks at every turn.

As I put the finishing touches on this post, it’s Wednesday morning, and we’re now sailing in a southeasterly direction toward Vlissingen (Flushing) Netherlands. Never heard of it? Neither have we. We arrive in 24 hours. It’s a beautiful morning – the first time we’ve had completely clear skies since leaving Phoenix, but wish we had warmer temps to go with it. The pool area is completely void of humankind, and has been since leaving Amsterdam almost two weeks ago. I brought about a half-dozen pairs of shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops…still packed away…what the hell was I thinking?!

After Vlissingen, we head to Brussels, Belgium…a first for us. We’ll keep you posted. I think they sell chocolate there…