World Keepsake Urn

This memorial urn takes modern day crystal glass creations and cremation urns to the limit. Beautiful clear crystal glass blended with opaque crystal and based within another glass piece. The world urn embodies the sign of world peace. Softly intentional, the art piece will draw questions. This is truly an artistic cremation urn with no other one like it on earth or Heaven.

About Royal Leerdam Urns

The first bottle-blowing factory was built in Leerdam in 1965. Because of the dark color of the bottles that are blown here, the factory is sometimes called ‘de Zwarthut’ (the black shack). On 18 June 1878, gentlemen Jeekel and Mijnssen build a 'white shack' next to the existing 'black shack'. It will be a glass factory where white glass, imported from abroad, is hardened. Next to bottles and pots, the range now also includes cremation urns, crockery, which is manufactured using foreign designs and models. In 1891 the factory was given the name NV Nederlandsche Glasfabriek Leerdam.

Then around 1915 director P.M. Cochius hires a team of designers, who are to make sure that the Leerdam factory will be able to market an aesthetically pleasing range of products which today includes cremation urns and cremation keepsakes. The emphasis was on consumer articles and consumer design products. In collaboration with the Dutch Vintners Association, during the 1930’s Vereeniging van Nederlandsche Wignhanderlaren, the first designer to be given a permanent position, A.D. Copier (1910), designs the Gilde Glass. The bowl of this glass is considered to be the design topper of the 20th century. The measurements of Gilde are determined by the golden section.

Floris Meydam (1919) succeeded A.D. Copier as Head of Design with Royal Leerdam in 1949. He designed numerous services, consumer articles, packaging glass, Serica, and Unica. The first mechanically produced drinking service is produced during 1958. Gilde, the success glass by A.D. Copier, which was by now extended to form a complete service, was selected for this.

In 1968, Willem Heesen (1925) was made Head of Design for Royal Leerdam. His best known service is called Ambassador. In addition, Heesen designed a lot of Serica, Unica, and monumental assignments. In 1977, Heesen left the factory to set up his own glass studio. Currently he does not create cremation urns. His works of art deal mainly with glass lighting. Also in 1968, the Glasvormcentrum (Glass Design Centre) was set up in the heart of the factory. Technical engineers, artists, designers, sales people, and glass blowers, all collaborated here to develop new products. Even today, the Glass Design Centre is the artistic heart of the company.

On January 1, 2003, Libbey Inc. takes over Royal Leerdam and Royal Leerdam Crystal from BSN Glasspack. In North America, Libbey Inc. is market leader in the area of table glassware. The names of Royal Leerdam and Royal Leerdam Crystal remain in use.

Today Royal Leerdam is one of the leading manufactures of crystal glass cremation urns.

Crystal is a very special type of glass. It is made from silver sand, red lead oxide, and potash. It has a greater brilliance than ordinary glass. And because of its special structure, it is very suitable for cutting and engraving. Royal Leerdam Crystal works with 'Cristal Supérieur', which is the purest crystal in Europe. This implies that its red-lead-oxide content is 30%.

The simplified recipe for 'Cristal Supérieur' is:
• 55 % sand (SiO2), which remains sand after heating (SiO2)
• 30 % red lead oxide (Pb3O4), which, after heating, produces lead oxide (PbO) and oxygen (O2) which is used in the combustion process.
• 20 % potash (K2CO3), which, after heating, produces potassium oxide (K2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which is discharged via the chimney.

Urn Glassblowing

The raw materials are mixed in pots of fireproof earthenware and heated to approximately 1400 degrees Celsius.
• The glassblower dips his blow pipe of cast iron in the liquid crystal (the batch) and draws out the required amount for the making of the urn (gathering).
• The drop that remains suspended from the pipe is blown into a bubble, which subsequently is blown into a mold with the desired shape.
• A blow pipe measures approximately one and a half yards in length.

Urn shaping by hand

The red-hot crystal urn may also be shaped by hand, if protected with wet paper. This ancient craft makes use of special tools, such as wood urn block molds and metal shears.

Urn pressing by hand

To achieve this, a two-part metal mold is used, which presses the crystal poured into the profile.

Cremation Urn Molds

The wooden molds used by Royal Leerdam Crystal are manufactured in Royal Leerdam’s own mold-making shop.
• The wood used is pear wood. This type of wood has a very fine structure. The shape does not alter when wet.
• During the blowing process, the molds are saturated with water.
• The red-hot crystal results in the water starting to boil, causing a layer of steam to develop between the crystal and the wood urn mold wall, which is why the mold can be used more than once.
• If they are used frequently, the molds are then made from cast iron.

Cooling down of the urns

The molded urns have a temperature of approximately 600 degrees Celsius, which then have to be cooled down to room temperature.
• This must be done very gradually; otherwise too much tension would be created within the crystal, causing the urns to burst.
• The gradual cooling down of the urns takes place in a so-called 'cooling oven'.

Urn Grinding

Using vertically and horizontally rotating grinding wheels, the crystal urns are given their finishing touches. If desired, grinding motives are applied. The finishing process, from rough grinding to bright polishing, comprises four to five production runs.

Urn Engraving

To engrave the crystal cremation urn, a kind of dentist's drill is used in combination with carborundum discs.
• Carborundum is a very hard type of grinding material, made of silicon carbide. The drill is moved across the glass by hand.
• The motive is engraved 'dry' (without the use of any liquid). However, the best results are obtained using a wheel on a stand, which has fast rotating copper discs, across which a carborundum powder drenched in oil is running.
• The object to be engraved is moved along the wheel.