In 1783, brothers George and William Penrose founded the Penrose Glass House in the busy port of Waterford, Ireland, and began to make crystal "as fine a quality as any in Europe ... in the most elegant style." The Penrose's knew the secret of mingling minerals and glass to create crystal with beauty and mystery. When tapped, it sang sweetly. When touched, it felt warm and soft. Yet it possessed strength and durability and, most wonderful of all, the crystal shone with a romantic, silvery brilliance. Patience, skill, and artistry had forged a triumph. The magnificent pieces created in Penrose's early period set the standards now recognised as the hallmarks of Penrose Crystal: incomparable purity of colour and distinctive, deep-cut patterns that reflect light into brilliant, dancing prisms.

Although by 1851 the fame of Penrose Crystal had spread throughout Europe and America, culminating in several gold medals at the Great Exhibition in London, but just as Penrose's art was reaching its full bloom, the financial climate turned grim and the factory was forced to close, largely due to excise duties. A great tradition lay dormant. However the mystique of Penrose and its place in Irish lore remained in the hearts and minds of many.

Penrose Crystal's great tradition lay dormant for over a hundred years.

Each piece of Penrose Crystal stands today as a testament to the traditions and standards of excellence that have survived with the Penrose name for more than 200 years... to be enjoyed and displayed now... to be cherished as an heirloom for generations to come..

Today the old crystal pieces are unique and rare collectable items, especially those imprinted with "Penrose Waterford". John Coughlan S.C.A., A.B.C. (Master Engraver and Designer, and the only Irish artist to practise the art of pointillism on glass), reformed the Penrose Crystal business in 1974, and for the first time after a lapse of 122 years, crystal inscribed "Penrose Waterford Ireland" came on the market. The Penrose Crystal Studio is situated in the heart of the ancient city of Waterford, and we are proud to carry on this tradition, in particular through our Limited Editions including the George & William Penrose range of fine crystal.

The raw material of mainly silica sand, lead oxide and potassium carbonate are melted in one of three single pot furnaces. Each pot contains approximately 600 kilograms of batch (mixture) and is melted overnight to be ready to work each morning. The painstaking process then begins.

Blowers remove a ball of molten glass on the end of a blowing pipe, which is then worked into the desired shape. (The team of blowers will use up all the contents of the pot in one working day. It will be filled again ready for the next day).

The piece of crystal then goes through an Annealing Oven which cools it to room temperature in three hours. Designs are then cut on to the blank piece by cutter using diamond tipped wheels. A unique method of fine finish chemical polishing is the final step in this long process. This step, like all others is executed by hand. A time consuming procedure, to be sure, but one that preserves the integrity of the cuts, so that light falling on sharply defined angles, is perfectly refracted into a myriad of colours portraying a diamond like brilliance.

The piece is then packed and ready for sale or dispatch. Blown by mouth . . . shaped, moulded, cut and polished by hand . . . Such is the essence of each Penrose Crystal Limited Edition. There are, of course, less expensive ways to produce crystal - but none that is better. For the true connoisseur of the art form, there exists no finer representation of true craftsmanship.