Waterford Crystal (Ireland) decanters

Waterford Glass House at Waterford in Ireland was established in 1783 by two local merchants, George and William Penrose. Glassmakers were bought in from England to head the company and products made from 1783, until the business closed in 1851 due to the high Irish tax on glass, account for its fame. Waterford glassware of this period was of heavy quality, colourless and with deep wheel cut decoration.

In 1947 a new glass manufacturing company was established in Waterford based on skilled European labour and in 1951 it was taken over by the Irish Glass Bottle company and renamed Waterford more... Glass Ltd.. Waterford purchased the Wedgwood group in 1986 and the group was renamed Waterford Wedgwood. In 2009 the group was purchased by a venture capital company that also owned the Royal Doulton Brand.

In July 2015 companies in the Waterford Wedgwood group were acquired by the leading Finish consumer goods company Fiskars, who also own the Gerber, Royal Copenhagen, Rorstrand and Arabia brands. less...

The earliest decanters date from the late seventeenth century and were made from blown moulded glass.

They were used to serve wine at a time when there was a move towards less formal dining procedures and the reduced reliance on servants and waiters.

The 1745 Excise Tax caused manufacturers to make decanters lighter in weight. The tax benefited the industry in Ireland where it did not apply. When the tax was repealed in 1845, a heavier gauge was reverted to.

In the second half of the eighteenth century blue, green and amethyst coloured decanters were made.

Decanters often sat on more... silver bottle coasters with baize bases (some even on castors) and could be 'pushed' around the dining table without making scratches or requiring serving staff. less...