Description of the attraction
The famous crystal factory is located in the city of Gus-Khrustalny. It is this enterprise that is the leading Russian manufacturer of crystal products: crystal glassware, highly artistic and decorative items. The Gusevsky plant encountered many obstacles on its way, but still managed to preserve the best traditions of glassmaking, while relying on the latest foreign experience and not neglecting fashion.
The Crystal Factory became the first of its kind to launch its products for mass consumption on the market, exhibiting the widest range of ordinary glass products - wine glasses, decanters, jugs, wine glasses and much more. Decanters with roosters and bouquets, which are known not only in Russia, but all over the world, have become one of the most popular products.
As soon as the plant was opened, they began to brew crystal, which soon gained popularity on the Russian market. During the All-Russian Exhibition of Manufactured Products, its director, Maltsov Sergey Yakimovich, became the owner of the honorary gold medal received for the production of "excellent crystal". All products were marked with the highest quality mark, which was maintained in the following time.
In the middle of 1857, the crystal factory was given permission to depict the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on its products. The functions of the plant included the fulfillment of orders from the royal court, as well as the production of unique crystal products for the ruler of Iran. Russian crystal was used for everyday and cavalier tables in the emperor's country palaces.
It is worth noting that the list of crystal objects was especially wide and began with ordinary tableware and ended with church religious utensils. The production was also subject to custom-made unique and one-of-a-kind items, ranging from the simplest to expensive complex products.
Over time, the manufactured products have acquired a specific character of high craftsmanship, professional artistic orientation and uniqueness. Special techniques began to develop, as well as new methods were mastered, which was perfectly expressed in the style of European artistic glassmaking. The best products, which were cast by factory craftsmen, were exhibited at the largest foreign exhibitions and many times won the highest awards for original performance, variety of forms presented and high professionalism.
In 1900, the World Paris Exhibition took place, at which the "Grand Prix" was awarded to Gusev products, and in 1958 in Brussels a bronze medal was received. Many more prizes have been won by Russian craftsmen, including two gold medals received in 1976 in Bratislava and the Great Gold Medal won at the Leipzig Fair in 1979.
Throughout the 1950s, new professional artists came to the crystal factory, after which a whole creative laboratory was organized, dedicated to the creation of new products, taking into account the already established traditions of Russian glassmaking and the cultural heritage of the Russian people.
The Crystal Factory enjoys wide popularity in Russia and in foreign countries as a traditional Russian center for industrial glass making. Excursions to the workshop No. 6, which specializes in the production of colorless crystal, are regularly organized around the plant. During the tour, visitors will be able to see all the stages of crystal product development, from blowing to packaging.
There are three bath glass-melting furnaces in the workshop, which continuously support the process of melting colorless crystal. There are always master blowers, compactors and typesetters near the oven. After the crystal is blown into the mold, it goes to the furnace for annealing. The purpose of annealing is to uniformly cool the crystal. Then the upper part of the product is cut off, after which it is decorated with a diamond edge. The product is washed with water, after which the process of its production is completed.
Today, the crystal factory produces a large number of crystal glassware, which is why it is in unusually high demand.
