Caithness Glass was founded in Wick in North East Scotland in 1961. In 1962, Paul Ysart, who had worked for Moncrieff glassworks (Monart) in Perth, Scotland, and whose father was a glassblower, joined as supervisor and the company started producing paperweights.
Its early tableware and decorative production was very similar to the Scandinavian glass popular at the time, being mould blown with thin rims, heavy bases and strong colours. Colours were inspired by the Scottish landscape, hence names such as ‘heather’.
Before 1968 few pieces were engraved. Some engraved pieces were produced after that year when Colin Terris, who had studied in Norway, joined the company. Most designs are abstract, but some ranges were inspired by natural or marine subjects, and lead to the realease of a new modern style range of paperweighs.
Tableware remained in production until the 1980s, when the factory began to concentrate further on paperweights, with
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a few decorative glass ranges still being made, primarily in mottled coloured glass and often with ‘painted’ enamel effects.
In 1988, Caithness bought the Wedgwood Glass factory at King’s Lynn and at one point had three factories. In 1996, the company, now with headquarters in Perth, was taken over by Royal Doulton and then by glqass tableware producers, Dartington Crystal in 2006. and is still in production today, primarily producing paperweights.
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