About us

In 1749, Duke Vitovt, the descendant of Grand Duke Algerd, founded the Algerd Glass House in an ancient town of Borisov, Belarus to honour his great ancestor. Duke Vitovt began to manufacture crystal of fine quality. Only few European Specialists of that time knew the secrets of mingling minerals with glass. The crystal they created possessed strength and durability and, most wonderful, it shone with a romantic, silvery brilliance. Patience, skill, and personal touch forged a triumph.

In 1917, Algerd Crystal was nationalised by the Soviet Power and renamed the Borisov Crystal Plant. But still it continued to be one of the leading crystal producing companies. Certainly, the economic policy of the USSR didn't favour the development of crystal products and it was against their export outside the USSR.

In 1998, the Borisov Crystal Plant was sold by the government of Belarus to the group of businessmen and the plant became the Joint Venture. On the first annual meeting of shareholders it was unanimously decided to return to history and to rename the plant Algerd Crystal Company. This key event marked a new epoch for Algerd Crystal. Modern technologies, effective management strategies, skilled staff made Algerd Crystal one of TOP crystal producing companies on the territory of the former USSR.

In 1999, Algerd Crystal conducted an extensive consumer research, which revealed that many of its customers wanted to see Algerd Crysal items in less formal designs. In a move to broaden its product range, Algerd Crystal successfully introduced many changes. All the items are manufactured with the same high quality standard of Algerd Crystal.

Today every single item of Algerd Crystal bears a worthy testament to the traditions and standards of excellence that have been associated with the Algerd Crystal name for more than 200 years...

As they say, crystal is the aerobatics of glass manufacturing because every crystal item either an ordinary wine glass or a crystal crown is unique. All our crystal products are handcrafted. A machine will never understand when exactly a hot drop will get thicker, no sensor will tell you when and how it should be heated up. Everything is based on intuition. The workmanship of crystal-making is learnt for years. And alas, not everyone can master it. Working with a white-hot glass mass is akin shamanism. You have to feel it and become an integral part of it.

In 2000, in Brussels, Algerd Crystal won a prestigious medal for outstanding quality and excellent design.