Listening to analysts such as White and Clifford, and to people in the trade, there is no doubt that the brand remains strong, a belief backed up by research carried out for the company in the US. It is the products that are in difficulty. Apart from a growing distaste for crystal golf figurines and corporate paperweights, there is a growing movement against the Rocha style.
Another analyst sees trouble ahead for brands that become too openly identified with fashion designers. It may then be seen as a Rocha rather than a Waterford. It becomes a Rocha product, and what you are perceived to be is an outsourced manufacturer for those products. What if someone like Rocha decides he'd like a bigger share?
Brand alliances are a double-edged sword. As for the product, Jill Cox, an authority on Irish glass and owner of Beaufield Mews antiques where she stocks replacements for gaps in Waterford suites in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, echoes the recurring theme when she describes the Rocha glasses as "very impractical with long, long stems that are so easily knocked over and chip so easily".
Both Cox and Dunne make the point that since we've become a nation of wine drinkers, we like to see what's in the glass, which rules out thick or heavily-cut glass. Mitchells has put its faith in Riedel, an Austrian brand, whose paper-thin glasses are now "the chic-est of the chic", in the words of one style arbiter. Already in stock is the stem-less wine glass, suitable for houses where dogs are careless with their tails and people are weary of trying to balance them on the hearth rug.
Meanwhile, glass experts are appealing for a return to the art of glass and to talented contemporary glass artists such as Deirdre Rogers and Paul Devlin. Phyllis McNamara, of Cobwebs antiques in Galway, where she stocks William Yoeward crystal, believes that we are on the brink of a revolution, of a kind last seen at the end of the 19th century, when revulsion at mass-produced Victorian jewellery triggered a revival of the craft movement.
In recent weeks, Waterford Wedgwood displayed some defiance by wrapping up a deal for Royal Doulton. But the market was not impressed. One analyst referred to the latest acquisition as something that looked like "a good attempt to make something happen.
John Foley would beg to differ. Research shows that the brand is held in great esteem in the US. I see this as a journey. When a shopper goes out and the choice is between Coach leather or a piece of Tiffany, I'd like Waterford to be in there.
The proof of the pudding will be that it will happen. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. The woes of Waterford Sat, Mar 19, , The writing is on the wall for Waterford Wedgwood unless it can break the cycle of falling sales and find a new niche for itself, argues Kathy Sheridan A profit warning.
Most Viewed. Each brilliant crystal piece is cut strictly from memory, with these lines simply acting as a guideline for precision and accuracy. In the cutting department you will see our Master Cutters at work, utilizing the masterful skills they learnt during an eight-year apprenticeship. Each pattern, no matter how detailed, must be learned and memorized by the cutter during his training years. The Master Cutter relies on their skill and dexterity to cut patterns, applying the exact pressure to make the cut without damaging the integrity of the vessel.
In the next stage of our tour the sculpting department, inspirational pieces of crystal created by our Master sculptors start out as solid blocks of crystal. Experience how delicately our Master Craftsmen adorn the intricate detail onto the crystal as they transform robust blocks of crystal into elegant shapes and figures with their sculpting wheels.
Finally, you will have the chance to see Master Engravers at work. Using copper wheels, these skilled artisans patiently engrave intricate designs onto trophies and limited-edition pieces, a painstaking process that can take days to complete depending on the size and complexity of the design.
The deeper the engraving on the crystal, the more prominent and pronounced the detail. With the largest collection of Waterford Crystal in the world, our opulent 12, square feet Retail Store gives you the opportunity to remember your unforgettable day by choosing a piece of crystal to take home.
The retail store represents our entire catalog of luxury crystal, including an exhibition of our golf and world sports trophies. Echoing Dowey's view, a recent issue of Departures magazine voted "the moderately priced but stylish" Waterford's Marquis eighth out of nine of the best top-of-the-range stemware in the world, claiming that "it makes a much better case for serious wine drinking than Waterford's classic cut-crystal patterns".
Turning around flagging profits, getting the slosh and the swish factor back into crystal are the Herculean tasks now facing Waterford Wedgwood and no one has easy answers. One woman with big ideas is engineer and glass collector Una Parsons who believes that a big international glass centre should be built along the quays in Waterford which would encompass glass art, research and development, architectural, microscopic and other applications of glass generally. The potential could be shown in new and imaginative ways.
It should be more design based," she argues. They have to be bold and do something different and make that imaginative leap. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. How the crystal lost its lustre Sat, May 7, , Most Viewed. Watch More Videos. Coronavirus Explore our guides to help you through the pandemic.
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