A history of Swarovski Crystals
Crystals are mesmerizing, hypnotizing and we can’t live without them! We use them in our bead work to bring it to life. When we see bead work on a wrist or arm, we ooohh and aaaahhh over it and are inspired to make one of our own. Crystal has that special allure… and I believe that many of us were brought into the bead world by the temptation of crystal.
If you take a look around, you’ll notice that there are a few countries that are tackling the crystal market, such as China, Austria and the Czech Republic. Of all the companies taking it on, Swarovski is by far the leader. They are way ahead in technology and diversity. I thought it would be interesting to share with you the origins of Swarovski crystal. So here we go!
Daniel Swarovski was born in Georgenthal, northern Bohemia (presently the Czech Republic) in 1862, during a time when crystal and cut glass were at a peak of popularity and production. His family was very involved in the manufacture of crystal and glass over generations, and as a child, Daniel spent much of his time observing the process. When he was old enough he began cutting crystal under the apprenticeship of his father, and soon under many other glass cutters as well. In 1883, at age 21, he traveled to Vienna to see his first International Electrical Exhibition, titled “Elektrische Ausstellung” and it was here that the inspiration came to him to develop a machine to cut crystal. He worked tirelessly to achieve this goal. Throughout many trials and errors over a nine year period, Daniel completed his vision in 1892 and the birth of the crystal cutting machine was realized. This machine made it possible to cut crystal to almost perfection, and with far more precision than the current way of cutting crystal by hand.
In need of hydro-electric power to accommodate the intense demand of energy in the grinding process, Daniel moved to the small village of Wattens in the Tyrolean Alps and set up shop in an old factory. In 1895 he set up officially as a company with the help of his brother-in-law Franz Weis and financier Armand Kosmann. Over the next decade, the main focus of their work was brilliantly cut jewelry stones, which he then sold to Parisian fashion houses and jewelers. The demand and excitement over these stones fueled Swarovski’s ambition to reach out to a broader audience and more lines of shapes and sizes were added.
Daniel had three sons, Wilhelm, Friedrich and Alfred, who joined in the business to assist with demand. It gave Daniel an opportunity to expand with ideas and in 1908 they began experimenting with the production of crystal. They created a special workshop next to the family’s villa in Wattens just for this purpose.
Over the course of three years, they designed and built melting ovens to accommodate the demands of the present time, and of the future. They struggled with the ‘recipe’ for pure, flawless crystal, and they achieved it by producing their own crystal in 1913. This monumental accomplishment opened the gateway to mass production at a whole new level.
The war created a shortage of materials and cutting machines, but Swarovski used this as an opportunity to challenge himself. He developed his own series of tools specifically designed to accommodate in the development and production of crystal, which made him self-sufficient. In 1917, after two years of research and development, he effectively managed to originate grinding, sawing, drilling and dressing tools, and completed their goal in 1919 by registering under the brand Tyrolit.
This company is now self-sufficiently producing near perfect crystals in mass quantities. Their competitors are decades behind in research and development. Swarovski is a locomotive heading into a bright future at an electrifying pace. And what a relief to us! We’ve got a lot of projects on the horizon waiting for those crystals!
A little more history… ->>
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