How Christopher Radko Ornaments Are Made

Christopher Radko Christmas tree ornaments are world-renown for their beauty, craftsmanship and their collectibility. Each Christopher Radko ornament is made by hand in a week-long process throughout Radko's three factories based in Poland, Germany and Italy.

Once each ornament has been conceived and drawn on paper, master carvers create a 3 dimensional clay or plaster replica or model of the ornament. The model is passed on to the molder who makes a mold of the ornament in sand and then creates the mold with molten metal to create a form. This form then becomes the master form for the ornament.

The week-long process of creating masterful ornaments pieces of Christmas-time art now begins:

  • Day One: The glass blower uses the master mold as a template and blows high quality and perfectly clear tempered glass into the mold to create the ornament. Tempered glass is used for its unparalleled strength, density and weight.

  • Day Two: The clear glass ornament is injected by hand with liquid sterling silver. The interior of the ornament is coated completely with silver to create unmatched luminescence.

  • Days Three and Four: On day three, Christopher Radko artisans hand-apply a matte finish base coat of lacquer in a color that accentuates the motif and character of the ornament. For example, if the ornament is a snow man, the base coat is white lacquer, if the ornament is a tree, the base coat will be matte green lacquer. On day four of the Christmas ornament making process, a second application of base lacquer is applied and other other accent colors are applied by hand.

  • Day Five: The painstaking process of detail painting takes place on this day. From eyes to tiny details, each ornament is hand painted with the utmost of care and detail. This process ensures that no two Christopher Radko ornaments are alike.

  • Day Six: Glitter and other appliques are added to the ornaments for more sparkle, glitz and glamor. Basically, on this day, each ornament receives the "bling" that makes it a Radko ornament.

  • Day Seven: Each ornament is inspected individually to make sure that each ornament meets the high standards of workmanship. Durability, beauty, paint detail, luminescence and weight are all scrutinized before the final step of manufacture. Once all quality tests have been passed, the golden Christopher Radko charm and custom ornament crown are added. The ornaments are then carefully tagged, carefully packed and shipped to Radko warehouses.