At the House of Waterford Crystal, there is a  manufacturing plant, and brand experience in Waterford, where we produce crystal and give visitors an opportunity to visit the factory and see how we make our beautiful products. On the tour, guests visit the mould room where they witness mould making – a technique that has remained unchanged throughout the centuries, as the Master Blowers shape the molten crystal flawlessly with the use of wooden moulds and hand tools. The next part of the tour is truly magical, as visitors enter the blowing department where they see glowing balls of crystal transformed into majestic shapes as they are put through the 1300-degree furnace. The Waterford Crystal pieces are then hand marked for precision and accuracy, and they are then cut, sculpted and engraved.  While getting this behind the scenes sneak peak of this highly skilled method of crystal manufacturing, visitors also see the high standards that the House of Waterford Crystal has for each and every piece that leaves the factory. The crystal is inspected at each stage of production, so each piece no matter how small goes through six inspections, and if it fails to reach the Waterford Crystal standards at any stage it is smashed and returned to the furnace to be re-melted so that the piece can be started again. The tour is fully guided and takes approx 50 minutes to complete. On completion of the tour, visitors can experience over 12,000 sq ft of crystal heaven in the largest retail and showcase of Waterford Crystal in the world. The retail store represents everything that is made in crystal, including a showcase on golf and sport, which is a major part of the international business at the House of Waterford Crystal. The main feature in the retail store is a centre dining table, with twelve Waterford Crystal Chandeliers on display. The lifestyle displays communicate the various brand stories including the Jo Sampson Collection, John Rocha, Jeff Letham and the core Waterford Crystal patterns. The product range includes Waterford Crystal, House of Waterford Crystal, John Rocha, Jasper Conran, Jo Sampson, Archive Stemware, Marquis, Lighting, Holiday Heirlooms and the new Waterford Crystal Jewellery Collection. Waterford Crystal continues to provide some of the most prestigious trophies to the world’s great sporting events made at the facility, and some of these trophies are on display in the retail store. The Crystal café is open seven days a week, a daytime cafe, the Crystal Café is all about great food using nothing but the best locally sourced seasonal produce supporting as many Irish suppliers as possible along the way. The menu  offers café-style dining, incorporating scrumptious salads, soups, wraps, ciabatta’s and other healthy options, with fresh baking daily.