About Iona
Crystal

History of IONA

IONA or “Isle of the Druids” as it was called in Ancient times, is an Island between Ireland and Scotland known in Gaelic as the Isle of Colm Cille, or Saint Columba .
Colm Cille was an Irish prince and priest who settled on the Island in the year 563 and became revered as Saint Columba. Scholars suggest that the book of Kells was written on Iona around this time.

The Island has a deep Celtic history. It is the burial place of Scottish and Irish Kings including King Duncan, Donald and Macbeth.
It was a principal seat of Celtic learning in the British Isles and was attacked regularly by the Vikings. Throughout this time skilled crafts using Metal, Wood, leather and Glass were practiced.

History of Crystal.

The history of Crystal stretches back over the millennia to its origins, around 5000 BC.
It is believed that the travelers of the time who crossed the deserts had to carry fuel (Wood) with them to keep themselves warm at night.
Early one morning they noticed that in the embers of their camp fire, the sand appeared to have changed in appearance. When the sun had risen enough, to pour its golden rays on the area, the light from the sun began to reflect and sparkle.
This was the beginning of a natural phenomenon known as fusing, where certain raw materials fuse together, change and become one.

In fact what happened that morning was that the sand of the desert had fused with the potash from the wood and together with the extreme heat from the fire, the raw material had become crystallized. This was later developed and used to form objects that carried water and precious liquids like perfumes. Thus the whole concept of using crystal to carry liquids and later for ornamental purposes came into being.

Long before diamond wheels were available, craftsmen used other methods for their era.
They started hundreds of years ago using stone wheels, and cooled them by pouring water over them, this prevented the crystal from breaking.
This job fell to the apprentice who also had to use pedals to keep the wheel rotating as the Master was working.

With the introduction of steam power a hundred years later, the wheels were turned using piston power and cooled by using a water stream to prevent the crystal from overheating and breaking.

IONA Crystal

Bringing the process forward in time to today only the location has changed.
Iona Crystal is an Irish Company, based in County Waterford, along the southeast coast of Ireland, producing Exclusive crystal products using traditional methods.
It is Iona Crystal’s philosophy that all people are individuals, therefore they have created the exclusivity concept.

Iona Crystal customers will have the opportunity to own an exclusively designed, totally mouth blown, and hand-cut piece of Irish Crystal This may take the form of an Exclusive Lamp, Centrepiece, Chandelier, or Bespoke Suite of crystal. Each piece shall be created to the highest quality standards and also accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity. Our limited edition pieces will be certified and also numbered. These unique pieces are very sought after and their value will increase with the passing of time.

Today in our production facilities we use the most advanced Manual Cutting Technology
to achieve the highest quality finish.