This attractive, knowledgeable young lady was our tour guide. She wore the trademark sea horse.
Our first production stop was at the mould room. There moulds were made to assist the glass blowers. Because of the high heat involved with the molten silicate, the mould would only last for a few uses, even with the more resilient of woods.
We next moved on to the glass blowing section. These guys were clearly very skilled.
Cutting off.
Here the blown glass is inspected (about 70% acceptance) and further cut and smoothed.
Coarse and fine grinders.
We approve of the process so far.
Next comes the mark up section for cut decorations in the glassware.
A markup expert in action.
Markup samples.
Cutting Section. Here skilled workers cut into the glass according to how the glass has been marked.
Before cutting.
Cut but not polished to the finished product stage.
Specialist furnace that requires out of the ordinary firing associated with special pieces. The cycle of firing is computer controlled.
This section produces the specialized sculpted/engraved pieces for which Waterford Crystal is famous.
Apparently, The Alabama football team dropped the NCAA Football trophy (made by Waterford Crystal) when they won the championship last year. Waterford Crystal had kept the mould, so this is the replacement trophy. Having been LSU trained, I did not drop it.
There were a number of specialized pieces that were almost ready for shipment.
A real slab of glass.
A skilled craftsman at work.
More exquisite pieces.
More skilled artisans.
A beautiful 9/11 piece.
Our guide show us the mark on the bottom of the glassware marking it as Waterford Crystal.
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