Waterford Crystal - The Mark of Distinction

Waterford Crystal was established in Waterford Ireland in 1947.   (Many versions of the Waterford Story like to start in 1783, but since present-day Waterford's illustrious same-name predecessor closed its doors in 1851, I really find it hard to make that connection.)

Waterford produces cut leaded glass crystal for a variety of purposes.

Stemware for the table:

Here is a brandy snifter in the Colleen pattern.

Lamps and light fixtures:

And figurines and trinkets - just for the fun of it:

An admirable feature of Waterford's tableware is that a pattern is never discontinued.  Some patterns will go out of active production, but if you've broken a piece of two of your mother's Waterford, you can always special order replacements.  Don't expect them in time for next week's (or even next month's) dinner party, because the special order pieces have to be made after they're ordered.  But you will eventually get them. 

Waterford Crystal is marked.  Be very wary of a dealer who's offering 'unmarked Waterford', because it's probably not Waterford.  Here's what the mark looks like:

The Waterford mark is easy to miss, because it's quite small and deliberately faint to not detract from the crystal.  It will be on the bottom of the piece or somewhere unobtrusive.  The mark shown here is many times real size, and is the clearest mark I could find - sometimes the mark is rather blurry.

I can't close without showing off the Waterford Apprentice Bowl I got from my Mom: