The demise of UK company Stuart Crystal – the last of the major crystal manufacturers in the Black Country – will leave a huge hole in an industry which is still largely reliant on centuries-old craft…
The demise of UK company Stuart Crystal – the last of the major crystal manufacturers in the Black Country – will leave a huge hole in an industry which is still largely reliant on centuries-old craft skills. But it does not mark the end of crystal making in Stourbridge, UK, where a number of much smaller firms, including Staffordshire Crystal, Tudor Crystal and Kinver Crystal, are still in business. And despite recent problems, Royal Brierley Crystal, perhaps the best-known name in the industry, hopes to be up and running in a new base sometime next year. The expertise of the craftsmen at Stuart may also find a new home. A number of the highly skilled workers at the factory are believed to be attempting to form a start-up company which, if it comes about, will concentrate on manufacturing more specialized pieces of glass, rather than volume production. However, the closure of the Stourbridge company, whose roots can be traced back to 1788, is a tragedy for an industry which has been badly hit by the world economic slump.