What is the New Year's Eve ball in New York's Times Square covered with?

The modern New Year's Eve ball in New York's Times Square is covered with Waterford Crystal panels.

Waterford Crystal began supplying panels for the Times Square Ball in 2000. The ball's geometric surface is made from triangular crystal panels attached to a large illuminated sphere. Computer-controlled LED lighting can produce many colors and patterns during the ceremony.

The design has evolved since the first ball descended in 1907. Early balls were much simpler, using iron, wood, and incandescent lamps. Later versions became larger and more technologically complex. The permanent ball installed above One Times Square is designed to remain visible outside the annual descent.

The phrase “crystal ball” can cause confusion because the Times Square object is not a fortune-teller's ball and is not made from one solid piece of crystal. Its panels are decorative crystal elements mounted on an engineered framework. Waterford's annual designs often incorporate themes connected with hope, unity, love, or other public messages.