Swarovski is the luxury brand name for the range of precision-cut lead crystal glass and related products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria.

History

Daniel Swarovski (October 24th, 1862 - January 23rd 1956) was born in Georgenthal bei Gablonz, now known as Jiøetín pod Bukovou, near Jablonec nad Nisou northern Bohemia - Czech Republic. His father was a glass cutter under the Austrian monarchy. In 1892 Daniel patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of lead crystal glass jewellery.

In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosmann, Daniel Swarovski & Co, which was later shortened to K.S. & Co. The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Tyrol, to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes which Daniel Swarovski had patented.

Products

The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal sculptures, miniatures, jewelry, couture, home decor and chandeliers.

All sculptures are marked with a logo. The original Swarovski logo was an edelweiss flower, but was replaced with the current swan logo in 1988.

In order to create a crystal that allows light to refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its crystals with special metallic chemical coatings. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow oil slick appearance. Other coatings include Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, and Dorado. Coatings may be applied to only part of an object; others are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X etc.

In 2004 Swarovski released Xilion, a new copyrighted cut designed to optimise the brilliance of Roses (crystal components with flat backs) and Chatons (diamond cut).

The Swarovski Group also includes Tyrolit (makers of abrasive and cutting tools); Swareflex (reflective and luminous road markings); Signity (synthetic and natural gemstones); and Swarovski Optik (optical instruments such as binoculars and rifle scopes).

The company runs a crystal-themed indoor theme park, Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) at its original Wattens site (near Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria). The Crystal Worlds centre is fronted by a grass-covered head, the mouth of which is a fountain.

Active-Crystals

In 2007 Swarovski formed a partnership with electronics giant Philips to produce the "Active-Crystals" consumer electronics range. This includes four USB Memory keys and four in-ear headphones, and in 2008 they included Bluetooth wireless earpieces for the brand, all with some form of Swarovski crystal on them as decoration.

Crystallized - Swarovski Elements

Swarovski also sells beads and rhinestones for use by manufacturers, artists and consumers in their designs.

In 2007 the company also launched the product brand website crystallized.com which provides information for designers and manufacturers in the worlds of fashion, jewellery, accessories and interiors. Crystallized - Swarovski Elements is the new product brand for Swarovski crystals in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours. Products that are labelled with this brand guarantee the originality of Swarovski crystals used in creations of international fashion houses and designers.

Figurines & Collectables

Swarovski's figurines are highly collectable, with a stylized mouse being the very first figurine created. A smaller version of this mouse, now labelled the "replica mouse" is still available to purchase. There are many types of figurines from ladybugs to limited edition disney collectables.

In popular culture

In 2004, Swarovski created the 9 foot diameter, 550 pound star that tops the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City for the first of five consecutive years.

Swarovski was also a sponsor for The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film), in which the "standing model" of the chandelier was composed of Swarovski crystals. A Swarovski shop window is also visible later in the film. However instead of using the edelweiss flower, which would have been the case in the era the film was set, the current swan logo was used instead.

For the 75th anniversary of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Swarovski crystals decorated the costumes worn by the Rockettes during the finale number.