NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Waterford crystal ball in Times Square is being worked on in preparation for its glittering entrance into 2016 later this week.

Workers were installing 288 new sparkling Waterford crystal triangles Sunday. They are being added to over 2,100 other crystal triangles to create what’s being described as a “Gift of Wonder” design

The ball is being worked on atop One Times Square at 42nd Street and Broadway.

The custom-designed crystals created by Waterford artisans are built to withstand high winds, precipitation and temperature fluctuations. The ball, a New Year’s Eve icon, must be sturdy because it will rest 470 feet above Times Square.

“It is about the celebration it is about looking ahead, it is about that sense of wonderment about what 2016 is going to bring for us all.” Waterford Crystal master artisan Tom Brennan said.

The annual Times Square show will begin at 6 p.m. on New Years Eve, and will feature everything from Chinese dancers to a performance by Grammy-nominated headliner Jessie Jay.

“To hear Jesse Jay sing ‘Imagine’ and singing out that message of the World is One this is truly what New Year’s Eve is all about here in Times Square,” Jeffery Straus, of Countdown Entertainment, said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Times Square are expected to watch the ball drop at midnight Thursday.

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