Loved for its prized heirlooms... now a relic

HOPE was the theme when Waterford Crystal created its triumphant Millennium Ball for New York city’s biggest ever New Year’s party.

As the clock struck midnight on December 31 1999, the giant crystal creation was lowered into Times Square to hover above an admiring crowd of a million onlookers.

It was six feet in diameter, had 504 individually designed crystal triangles, 696 lights and 90 rotating mirrors, so the whole effect was one of light and sparkle. A glittering success, many said.