History of Swarovski Swarovski crystal: Daniel Swarovski invented an automatic cutting machine in 1892. In 1895 the Swarovski company was founded when he established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Austria. Here he took advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes he had patented. CRYSTALLIZEDtm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS 1892 Daniel Swarovski's invention The play of light in crystal must have fascinated Daniel Swarovski from early childhood. He was born in 1862 in Bohemia where crystal defined life in his parents' house. Bohemia, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was one of the most important manufacturing centres for glass and crystal. Crystal was also cut in his father's small factory. As a young boy Daniel often watched the work in his father's business. Later he completed his apprenticeship with his father, as well as at several other crystal-cutters. When, at the age of 21, he visited the "1. Elektrische Ausstellung" (First Electrical Exhibition) in Vienna, he had the idea of his life: the new techniques from Siemens and Edison inspired him to develop a machine for cutting crystal. He worked day and night at realising his vision. Finally, nine years later (1892), he was ready to register a patent: a machine which, for the first time, made it possible to cut crystal to perfection. It was far faster and more precise than the manual work to date. Thus began a new era in the world of crystal. The foundations had been laid for today's company. Daniel Swarovski together with his brother-in-law Franz Weis and with Armand Kosmann founded it in 1895. Swarovski.com Swarovski crystal contains nearly 32% lead to maximize refraction. The Swarovski Crystal range includes jewelry and couture, crystal sculptures and miniatures, home decor and chandeliers. They also are famous for beads and rhinestones. BMNY manufacturing was encouraged by Swarovski to create their own designs. Swarovski coats some of its crystals with special metallic chemical coatings which creates a crystal that allows light to refract in a rainbow spectrum. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow oil slick appearance. Other types of coatings are Volcano, Aurum, Crystal Transmission and Dorado. Coatings may be applied two ways: to only part of an object or are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X etc. All sculptures are marked with the new Swarovski logo ~ as of 1988. The original Swarovski logo was the famous edelweiss flower. 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). Incredibly 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. wikipedia.com Questions? For information on our live presentations of our jewelry collection in nationwide department stores: Call 877-795-1901 Toll Free. ~ Kmart, Sears Canada, Big Lots, Military PX BX. Return to Homepage