We are very pleased to present this stunning signed Waterford cut crystal bowl in the collectible Colleen Nouveau pattern, discontinued in 2008. This large serving bowl features a lovely diamond optic lattice, topped with prominent oval thumbprints. Our Waterford bowl weighs 3# 8 oz. and measures 8 x 8 x 3.5 inches deep. Our Colleen bowl is in Excellent condition. xxxxxxxxxxxx. Waterford is a village situated on the River Beane, just 2 km. north of the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. The Waterford Crystal history took root in 1783 when two brothers, George and William Penrose, founded their crystal manufacturing business in the busy port of Waterford. They were important developers and the city’s principal exporters, reportedly informing the Irish Parliament that their start-up costs exceeded 10,000 pounds, a fortune in the latter 18th century. In 1799, after 16 years, George and William Penrose and their managing director, John Hill, decided to sell the old Flint Glass Works. The factory was purchased by Jonathan Gatchell, an apprentice. Between 1800 and 1823, Waterford grew rapidly, with major construction and the addition of 25 skilled workers. Gatchell developed a plan by which his children would inherit and manage the glass works at Waterford, and it came to pass that Gatchell’s son, George, inherited the factory in 1835, on his 21st birthday. The old Flint Glass Works would survive for another 16 years until massive new taxes were levied on the import and export of crystal under the order of King George IV. Unable to find a partner with a considerable amount of capital, George Gatchell auctioned off Waterford’s Flint Glass Works. In 1851 the factory that produced Waterford crystal closed its doors and remained closed for a century. During the 1930s, Ireland set out to develop a modern industrial society. To build industry and to slow emigration, Ireland began inviting wealthy speculators into the country. A group of Belgians, led by two Irishmen, Joseph McGrath and Joseph Griffin, invested in the nearly defunct Irish Bottle Co. The partners opened what they called a pilot factory. This factory, in Ballytruckle, successfully weathered the Great Depression as well as World War II, and By 1950 McGrath, Griffin, and Bernard Fitzpatrick, an important shareholder in the company, decided to revive the Waterford crystal tradition. McGrath and Griffin returned to Ireland, bringing with them 30 skilled glass blowers and cutters. With these craftsmen they began an apprentice program in Ireland like none before it. The 30 European craftsmen began to train native Irishmen in the art of glass making. Although these displaced European artisans remained in Ireland for many years, eventually, all but one returned to the continent. To replace the pilot operation in Ballytruckle, a new factory was built in Johnstown, Waterford County. In 1951 exactly 100 years to the day that the old Flint Glass Works were closed, the new factory opened, producing legendary Waterford crystal to the present day. Reputedly, Waterford crystal items produced prior to approx. 1850 have no markings. Additionally, no Waterford crystal was produced until 1947, and items produced after 1947 have the “Waterford" mark engraved thereon, and in approximately 1983, the current (hard to see) shallow acid etch mark was employed.

Excellent condition - very minor base wear