What is the difference between Waterford and Marquis by Waterford?

The main difference between Waterford and Marquis by Waterford is that Waterford is the name of a legendary Irish glassware company and Marquis by Waterford is the name of a line introduced by the maker in 1991. 

Waterford was founded in Ireland in the late 18th century owing to a tax loophole. In 1783, business-minded brothers George and William Penrose founded the Waterford Glass House in southeastern Ireland because Irish glass was exempt from steep British import duties. The two wanted to make fine-quality wares and hired artisans from England, including master glassmaker John Hill. The factory’s flint glass — a precursor to lead crystal — soon won a clientele among British and continental aristocrats. After Waterford closed in 1851, it was revived nearly 100 years later, in 1947, by a Czech glass manufacturer named Charles Bacik, who moved to Ireland after the Communist takeover of his country.

When the Marquis by Waterford range of vases and other wares debuted, they were priced for everyday use and were intended for use in modern homes. It was the first new brand debuted by the company in what was then its more than two-century history.

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