Waterford Crystal is used for the outer panels of the Times Square Ball introduced for New Year's Eve 2008.
The 2008 ball was created for the celebration welcoming 2009. Its geodesic sphere was covered with Waterford Crystal triangles and illuminated by thousands of LEDs. The design was much larger and more technically advanced than the original 1907 ball, reflecting the growing scale of the televised Times Square celebration.
Waterford Crystal, an Irish crystal manufacturer, has supplied crystal components for several Times Square Ball designs. The panels have carried changing patterns and themes, including designs associated with hope, harmony, and other symbolic ideas.
The ball is not made entirely of solid crystal. Its crystal triangles form a decorative outer surface attached to a structural sphere. This distinction matters because descriptions sometimes call it a “crystal ball” in a figurative sense, while the illuminated object is an engineered assembly of metal, electronics, and crystal panels.