With the ball drop fast approaching, it's time for the annual tradition of replacing some of the ball's nearly 2,700 crystals with new shiny, sparkly triangular pieces of cut glass.

That means that 192 Waterford crystals in the new pattern were installed Thursday.

"The world feels a little divisive, a little bit of anger going on in the world these days,” said Tim Tompkins, President of Times Square Alliance. “And one of the things about New Years is that it is a time when the whole world comes together and we try to remember what we have in common."

This year, the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration will honor the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit dedicated to defending the freedom of the press and helping journalists.

“I think we realized more than ever how important journalism is, it is a building block of our democracy, not only here but abroad,” Jeffrey Straus, President of of Countdown Entertainment said. “It's vital. It's vital to the success of all of our individual…all of the goals that we have. If we want to have that success and that peace and the love, it all comes down to transparency and what's going on in the world and everyone's views being shared.”

The new Gift of Harmony crystals join other crystal patterns on the ball celebrating things like the Gift of Kindness, the Gift of Wonder, the Gift of Fortitude and the Gift of Imagination.

The ball, which is 12 feet in diameter, is almost ready now for its big drop. 

"It's the largest crystal ball in the world. It weights nearly 6 tons and has over 32,000 LEDs which create 16 million colors and billions of patterns,” said Straus. “It's a kaleidoscope in the sky on New Year’s Eve."

What happens to the triangles removed to make space for the new crystals?

"We donate those to charities and good causes. They are never for sale because these for us are priceless,"  said Tom Brennan, Master Artisan of the Waterford crystals. 

And now they are hoping to create a priceless, harmonious experience for all the revelers Monday night.