Vintage Signed Waterford “Nocturne” Cut Crystal Ship’s Decanter Complete With Original Stopper (9”/23cm, Approximately 2kg).

Absolutely fantastic signed heavy crystal decanter with the “Waterford” mark acid etched at the base. Please browse all 12 sets of photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory.

Would make a marvellous gift. Vintage but as new and In near perfect condition without any damage whatsoever other than extremely minor, hardly visible possibly friction marks at the base. Work of a master glass maker of the highest order. Fantastic weight and feel. Needs to be seen and handled close up to be fully appreciated as the photographs attached really do not do it justice.

Absolutely top of the range item. Nowadays most European crystal manufacturers have moved their production abroad for economic reasons and crystal items are imported from abroad and the Far East but this is an original Irish made decanter.

The name Waterford is synonymous with quality. Created by hand in the city of Waterford, Ireland more than 200 years ago, this well crafted glassware appeared in the homes of the well to do families throughout Europe, and even gained the admiration of the British royal family. Waterford Crystal pieces are valuable because they contain very intricate design elements, and the process to create them is both complex and labour intensive. The larger the piece, the more detail it includes, and the more expensive it is purchase. The cost of these works of art varies from under £50 for an ornate seahorse memento to well in excess of £10,000 for an intricate crystal chandelier. Today, Waterford crystal is still hand cut and produced with an incredibly exacting attention to craftsmanship and remains a highly coveted and collectible brand.

Waterford Crystal is named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. The origins of crystal production in Waterford date back to 1783 when George and his nephew William Penrose started their business, the Waterford Glassworks. It produced extremely fine flint glass that became world renowned.

For those who are interested a word or two about ship’s decanters:

Generally decanters with very wide bases are known as “ship’s decanters” or if you live west of the Atlantic Ocean, occasionally as “captain’s decanters” and they have been popular for well over 200 years. In recent times, almost all well-known glass manufacturers have made decanters, with very wide bases, although they have often given them proprietary names with no mention of ships. Not only do ship’s decanters look stable but they allow wine to ‘breathe’ better than standard decanter models.

The precise date when ship’s decanters made their first appearance is not known, but what is known, is that they were called ‘Rodneys’ in the 1780s. It was fashionable at the time for decanters of different shapes to be called after naval heroes - Nelson gave his name to decanters with cylindrical bodies after his famous battle of Trafalgar in 1805 - and Admiral Rodney was feted for his success over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of the Saintes (April 1782). ‘Rodney’ is a term still occasionally used, but apparently now confined only to dealers in antique glass and collectors.

Ships decanters are generally heavier than most other decanters. Presumably it was felt that those made from thicker glass, were more robust than other models and thus more likely to survive a fall. It is certainly indicative of higher quality particularly at a time when materials were a higher percentage of overall cost than the labour to make them and decanters were originally sold by weight. Also the very shape of a ship’s decanter gives a higher ratio of surface to volume, and hence a greater weight.

Ship’s decanters have never really evaporated from fashion, although the very broad-based decanters made today seldom, if ever, refer to the maritime origin of their design by their manufacturing companies. While British glassmakers were responsible for the introduction of the ship’s decanter, other countries have also made them. Danish Holmegaards and American Steuben are two such versions.

A decanter with a star-cut base refracts light coming from an overhead source back and upwards. If wine is in the decanter, the facets of the star cutting will glint brightly through the wine. This phenomenon is further enhanced if the decanter is fluted on the lower portion of its body.

Ship’s decanters quite aside from their being decorative, perform the function of allowing wine to ‘breathe’ more effectively than standard models, are generally made of higher quality glass (and coincidentally the quality of manufacture is seldom less than excellent), they are more stable and their thicker walls are better equipped to withstand damage. In short, they are superior to other decanters from every perspective.