Reed & Barton is one of America's oldest, privately-held silversmiths. Since 1824, our richly designed and expertly made flatware, gifts and fine collectibles have graced the homes of those who appreciate and admire works of beauty. Our unwavering commitment to high quality and old-world craftsmanship can be found in every piece that bears the Reed & Barton name.

The Reed & Barton story began in 1824, when Isaac Babbitt created a new metal alloy - "Britannia metal" - in his Taunton, Massachusetts pewter shop.

Babbitt joined forces with craftsmen Henry G. Reed and Charles E. Barton to produce this innovative, higher quality pewter ware. When Babbitt encountered financial difficulties, Reed & Barton offered to take control and began manufacturing products under their own names. The fledgling company's goods reflected uncompromising standards of excellence, starting with its initial silverplate products and extending to the exquisite sterling silver creations that resulted from the silver discoveries of the late 1800s.

Today, Reed & Barton is world renowned for its vast array of high quality sterling silver, silverplated and stainless flatware and giftware. The company's distinguished family of brands includes Reed & Barton Handcrafted Chests, Miller Rogaska Crystal, The Sheffield Collection and R & B EveryDay. Reed & Barton is also the exclusive US distributor of Belleek Fine Parian China and Aynsley Fine English Bone China Tableware. As one of the oldest, privately held silversmith companies in the United States, Reed & Barton remains steadfast in its commitment to fine design and superb craftsmanship.

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England's oldest pottery company still on its original site, in the heart of the Staffordshire Potteries. Spode's craftsmen have been designing and manufacturing some of the finest ceramics ever produced for over 200 years.

Imagine Christmas morning, 100 years ago: excited children wheel porcelain dolls in cast iron buggies while father builds a fire beneath the ornately decorated mantle. The kitchen is alive with acttivity as the aroma of the forthcoming feast wafts through the home. In the dining room, the massive oak table displays hand sewn linens set with sterling silver flatware, figural napkin rings, crystal salt dips, and mothers finest china, a beautiful set of Spode Tower.

This holiday season, many lovingly prepared family banquets will again be served on Spode Tower and other traditional Spode dinnerware patterns, many of which remain unchanged since the early 1800s.

Josiah Spode I, a former apprentice of Josiah Wedgwood, founded his pottery works in 1770; ten years later, he perfected the non-fading, blue transfer printed underglazed china that became the hallmark of the Staffordshire potters in the 1780s. The next breakthrough at the Spode works came in 1794, when Josiah Spode II mixed calcified ox bone with ordinary china clay and stone, creating a bone china which approached porcelain in quality yet could be produced inexpensively on a large scale. Bone china quickly replaced other inferior types of stoneware throughout the pottery industry and remains one of the most admired ceramic forms today.

More than excellent quality attracts collectors to Spode; elegant designs, from the brilliantly colored floral motifs of Billinglsey Rose(c.1894) and Buttercup to Oriental styles like India (c.1815) and Spode's Willow have drawn tableware buyers to Spode for decades. Spode designs were greatly influenced by the family's association with William Copeland, a London broker and tea merchant; in many cases, Spode lifted design concepts directly from the elaborately decorated papers used to wrap the tea leaves Copeland imported from China. Trade with Asia was booming in the early 1800s, and as Europeans became entranced by Oriental design, Spode patterns became wildly popular.

Together, the Spodes and Copeland opened a showroom in London, exposing Spode China to the burgeoning British merchant class and to sea traders who soon carried it around the world. Spode's success at selling inexpensive bone china with an Oriental flavor brought the importation of Chinese pottery almost to a halt.

After Josiah Spode II died, Copeland bought the pottery, adding exquisite hand-decorated parian figures, plaques, vases and tablewares under the Copeland name while continuing many popular Spode patterns. New Spode patterns in the Victorian era depicted English country and hunt scenes as well as flora motifs; special export china in Spanish styles was created to sell in Mexico and South America, and later in Florida and California. An area of surprise and interest to modern Spode collectors is the variety of non-tableware pieces produced with any number of Spode or Spode/Copeland marks in the late 1800s, including vases, bidets, and ornamental items.

While collectors are increasingly discovering unusual pieces of Spode, most seek out the attractive dinnerware patterns. Now a part of Royal Worcester China, Spode is still produced in Red and Blue Tower and certain other patterns; new pieces are easily told from old by their stylized blue marks. Whether the collector desires a complete set of Wickerland or an individual plate, gravy bowl, or serving dish in cheery Spode Christmas pattern, Spode's timeless designs and widespread distribution make it easy to build a collection. Attractive Spode China services will remain a part of family holiday tradition for many Christmases yet to come. -Don Haase and Biff Minnick

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The Vera Wang lifestyle extends across fashion, fragrance and now home. Vera Wang china and crystal is a natural extension given the designer's brilliant instinct for all things bridal. Crafted for the realities of entertaining, Vera Wang China and Crystal offers classic, elegant and sophisticated styles. The introduction of lifestyle collections moves the collection from bridal registry to everyday living and celebrating. Vera Wang Home - china, crystal, silver - is luxury and sophistication that can be lived everyday.

Vera Wang has spent more than twenty-five years in the fashion industry. After her sixteen-year tenure at Vogue as Senior Fashion Editor, Vera Wang served as a design director for Ralph Lauren. In 1990, she ventured out on her own, opening a luxury salon at the esteemed Carlyle Hotel in New York City to showcase her bridal collection. The Vera Wang label quickly took off, earning praise from the fashion elite for its luxurious fabrics, exquisite detailing and modern interpretation of classic lines.

The discipline Vera Wang brings to her work and to her life was developed early by her parents, who encouraged academic excellence and athletic prowess. She studied at Chapin, Sarah Lawrence and at the Sorbonne and competed in international skating competitions.

Years later, her intimate knowledge of the sport, coupled with her taste and design ability, would capture the world's attention when silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan wore Vera's unique design for the 1994 Olympics. Vera Wang remains active in designing at the Olympic level for skaters such as Michelle Kwan.

Vera Wang's fashion sense also came early in life, beginning with visits to the Paris shows with her mother and maturing during her tenure at Vogue. As Senior Fashion Editor, Vera Wang interacted with the world's leading designers and brought their visions and sense of style to the world. Many of these designers became personal friends and mentors and helped Vera Wang deepen her knowledge of the business of fashion. In 1985, Vera Wang left Vogue and joined Ralph Lauren as a design director.

The inspiration for her label stemmed from her own frustrating wedding dress experience. Vera Wang aspired to add fashion sophistication to the segment, which was steeped in tradition and symbolism and yet operated like a commodities business. There was no fashion in bridal until Vera Wang.

Today, Vera Wang's position as the preeminent designer of bridal gowns is only one aspect of her fashion vision for the future. The editorial success of her ready-to-wear shows demonstrates her presence beyond bridal. She continues to challenge herself as a designer, pursuing fragrance, fine jewelry, eyewear, footwear and a home collection that capture her vision for the future. Vera Wang's philosophy remains simple and elegant and her voice clearly distinguished from other designers. She is a design expert that women turn to for advice. Vera Wang is creating a lifestyle that is the epitome of luxury - always sophisticated and Vera Wang lives in New York City with her husband, businessman Arthur Becker, and their two daughters.

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Waterford Crystal designs, manufactures and markets an extensive range of crystal objets d'art, stemware and gifts for distribution throughout the world. In recent years, Waterford has built upon its reputation as a leading source of prestigious tabletop and gift products by expanding into several new businesses. Significant expansions into tabletop and gifts have occurred with the launch of the Marquis by Waterford, the addition of Waterford Fine China, Waterford Fine Flatware, and Waterford Holiday Heirlooms, and Waterford Table and Bed Linens. Each of those initiatives reflects the company's commitment to creating prestigious products -- for gift giving, entertaining, and home decorating -- whose classic designs transcend time.

History : The company of Waterford was first established in 1783 on land adjacent to Merchants' Quay in the heart of the Irish harbor town of Waterford. Its founders were two brothers, William and George Penrose, who were important developers and principal exporters in the city. Their vision was to "create the finest quality crystal for drinking vessels and objects of beauty for the home." More than two hundred years later, the reputation they established for creating glass of unsurpassed beauty and quality has transcended the intervening centuries.

Today, Waterford's principal manufacturing plant stands on a 40-acre site on the outskirts of the city made famous by its glittering product. There are also two other manufacturing plants in County Waterford.

Waterford Wedgwood : The Luxury Lifestyle Group : With a combined history of over 600 years of heritage, tradition and craftsmanship, today Waterford Wedgwood, plc is among the world's leading luxury lifestyle group with world class brands that include Waterford Crystal, Wedgwood, W C Designs, Rosenthal and All-Clad.

Waterford Wedgwood plc was established in 1986 with the merger of Waterford Crystal and Wedgwood. In February 1998, the Company acquired an 85 percent share in Rosenthal AG, Selb, Germany, which has since increased, in 2001, to 89.9%. In May 1999, All-Clad, Cannonsberg, Pennsylvania, joined the Waterford Wedgwood Group, as did W-C Designs of Anaheim, California, in 2001.

The product portfolios of the Group's prestige brands complement each other perfectly. Co-operations with other luxury brands, with fashion designers such as Versace, Bulgari, John Rocha, Jasper Conran and Paul Costelloe, and with top international chefs have helped the Group differentiate itself. With its distinguished members, the Group is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of today's consumers and to expand its position in the luxury lifestyle market.

Around the world, Waterford Wedgwood, plc, which is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is represented in more than 80 countries, has a work force of approximately 9,000 employees, and offers its customers one of the world's most extensive product ranges in the market. Visit their website - Waterford website

Wedgwood manufactures quality ceramics combining sophisticated classical contemporary design with highly skilled craftsmanship and the highest standards of quality. The company's main sales markets today include the UK, Japan and America.

Wedgwood is quintessentially English. It has a tradition of innovation, quality and craftsmanship and its designs are widely acknowledged as timeless, elegant, classic and understated. The Wedgwood design teams also work with external designers for cross-pollination of ideas and experience.

The company has established exciting design partnerships with fashion designers, Jasper Conran, Vera Wang and artist Robert Dawson to develop contemporary and stylish ranges that appeal to the younger consumer.

Today, Wedgwood is known throughout the world for the quality of its products and its rich heritage. Wedgwood is a member of Waterford Wedgwood Plc the world’s leading luxury lifestyle group with four world class brands – Waterford Crystal, Wedgwood, Rosenthal and Royal Doulton.

Visit the Wedgwood Fine China and Gifts website.