Author Notes
Author's Note:
The last line in the poem - 'waterfall crystal' - is a reference to Waterford Crystal. This extremely fine crystal became world-renowned, and is named after the city of Waterford in Ireland, where it was produced, dating back to 1783.
In 1966 Waterford's chandeliers were installed in Westminster Abbey for the 900th anniversary of the dedication of the abbey after Christoper Hildyard, a minor canon of the abbey for 45 years, convinced the Guinness family to pay for them. Chandeliers hang in other notable buildings, such as Windsor Castle, and the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Waterford Crystal made the 2,688 crystals for the famous New Year's Eve Ball that is dropped each year in New York City's Times Square. The ball is an 11,875-pound (5,386 kg) geodesic orb, 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and is lit by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Tebel LEDs.
One of the most popular products in their collection is the 'Apprentice Bowl'. It requires 600 precision cuts, all done by hand. Cutters would set out to complete this bowl in their fifth and final year of apprenticeship. They were only permitted three attempts, where the cutter would then be graded and if they passed it would receive the Waterford Crystal watermark.
Sporting trophies are also crafted by Waterford, such as the Masters Series crystal shield trophies that are awarded to the winner of each of the nine men's professional tennis Masters Series tournaments, the AFCA National Championship Trophy that is awarded to the US college football team which finishes the season at the top of the Coaches Poll, and a representation of the Ashes urn that is presented to the winners of the Test cricket series between England and Australia. The trophy for the Masters snooker championship is also made by Waterford Crystal, as is the Scottish Open snooker championship trophy.
Also crafted by Waterford are the winning trophies for the French, Belgian and German Grand Prix in Formula One, a bat and ball trophy presented at the final game at Yankee Stadium to Derek Jeter and a glass tennis racket for Boris Becker.
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