Magic Swarovski crystals! (biography of the creator and history of creation!!!). What are Swarovski crystals made of? Technical innovations of Daniel Swarovski
Swarovski is an esthete, a failed violinist, a romantic. And he was driven by the desire to prove to others that in art the material you work with is not so important as your own skill and the mystical crystal worlds into which the viewer is immersed. In imitation, by the way, there is a rather strong anti-God element: isn’t it tempting to make the artificial light brighter than the natural one, so that the fake diamond outshines the real one? It is unknown, however, what the master himself, a Catholic, a man of deep faith, thought about this.
The mysterious personality of Daniel Swarovski can be classified in very, very different ways. For example, consider him a criminal figure, a fraudster and an imitator in the spirit of the famous Georges Frederic Strass. This Strass lived in the enlightened eighteenth century and successfully counterfeited precious stones. Fake diamonds were named “rhinestones” in his honor. But the jeweler himself remained in history as a lone adventurer. Unlike Swarovski, a successful and law-abiding businessman, engineer, owner of a huge factory.
There is another approach. Swarovski is an esthete, a failed violinist, a romantic. And he was driven by the desire to prove to others that in art the material you work with is not so important as your own skill and the mystical crystal worlds into which the viewer is immersed. In imitation, by the way, there is a rather strong anti-God element: isn’t it tempting to make the artificial light brighter than the natural one, so that the fake diamond outshines the real one? It is unknown, however, what the master himself, a Catholic, a man of deep faith, thought about this. You can talk about Swarovski as a harbinger of kitsch or about the man who inscribed European folklore into the industrial revolution and put it on the assembly line. About the founder of a family business. About an optical engineer. About a Czech who became a Tyrolean... As you can see, a lot of concepts can be built. The facts are as follows.
Daniel Swarovski was born on October 24, 1862 in the north of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in the mountains of Bohemia. This region is famous not so much for “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, but for the famous Bohemian glass, which began to be blown and processed here long before the industrial revolution. I don’t know how it is now, but back then every self-respecting Bohemian had a glass workshop in their home. Daniel’s father was no exception, but his enterprise was clearly not particularly large-scale. He made jewelry, hair clips and other accessories from glass. All this is for household needs and retail trade, nothing more. Swarovski Jr. worked in the family business for several years, played the violin in his free time, and then got bored. The Bohemian village became too small for him. Big things, he decided, were done in big cities. For example, in Paris.
It was there that Daniel went to study chemistry, physics, mechanics and other sciences necessary for an engineer. And after studying them, I went to the World Electrotechnical Exhibition. There, among the mysterious mechanisms and no less mysterious gentlemen-inventors, he wondered: is it possible to adapt electric current to grind glass? It turned out that it is possible. In 1891, after much thought and calculation, he built the world's first electric grinding machine. This machine made it possible to process stones and crystal in large quantities and with excellent quality. The public has not yet realized what actually happened. To notify her of this, Swarovski needed to open mass production. In other words, enter the market. Here Daniel cheated. Deciding not to compete with Bohemian craftsmen, he moved to Austria and there, in the Tyrolean town of Wattens, began stamping crystal imitating precious stones.
Swarovski did not hide the fact of imitation, since he considered his business to be completely legitimate. His crystal looked the same as diamonds, which means it could perform the same social function. Simply put, Swarovski brought to life secular glitz, prestige, the right to be chosen and other illusions that people associate with precious stones. They say that a real, natural diamond chooses on whose finger it appears. But the time of elitism was rapidly passing, and now even a mediocre official could present his wife or intimate friend with an elegant crystal piece (what a jewel!) without being suspected of embezzlement. The saying "all that glitters is not gold" has been disproved. Shine turned out to be more important.
The Swarovski factory was inundated with orders. He had to expand the premises and hire 200 workers. It was then that the company received the name Swarovski, because a product on the market cannot be nameless. Over the course of several years, Swarovski, together with his sons who had formed by that time, brought the technology of cutting and polishing crystals to perfection. It turned out that only he in the whole world knows how to achieve the supernatural transparency of crystal. The main competitors of the cunning Daniel, the famous glass factories of Venice, were on the verge of ruin. What about Venice! So far no one has been able to do anything like this, no matter how hard they tried. Even Bohemian glassblowers could not outdo their fellow countryman.
Many people have tried industrial cutting. It was then that it became clear that Swarovski’s strength was not so much in the machines, but in the formula that he developed for melting his crystal. Fashionistas in Paris and St. Petersburg, where Daniel sent jewelry samples, were absolutely delighted. Years will pass, and crystal jewelry will become an element evening dresses Marlene Dietrich, stage costumes of Michael Jackson, Bryan Ferry and Tina Turner. Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent still trim their dresses with crystal. During World War II, when European fashion houses collapsed, the cunning Swarovski managed to sell his crystal products in the United States. Whether long or short, the founder of the company died in 1956, leaving the family a thriving business. Exactly twenty years later, his heirs opened a new production line called Silver Crystal. The first to leave this line was a mouse made from pendants for a chandelier. The mouse was followed by a hedgehog, a turtle, a fawn, a rhinoceros, a swan... In general, a whole zoo made of glass. Swarovski marketers have given all of them the status of collectibles. The price of these figures now ranges from $30 to $600.
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Soon a club of collectors of Swarovski products was created, which includes about half a million people from all over the world. Once a year, designers present each of them with a figurine made according to special sketches. So special that all the tools used to produce the figures, and the sketches themselves, are mercilessly destroyed. The conspiracy is understandable. After all, the secret of Swarovski crystal is the main capital of this venerable company. But it would be stupid not to exhibit, say, Cezanne, fearing that some dodgers will copy the artist’s style and push him out of the market. There is not such a huge difference between Cezanne and Swarovski: crystal is also art. Therefore, no one hides Swarovski products from the world. On the contrary, a cult is created around them. There is also a place where crystal is worshiped, the apotheosis of this cult. I mean the Swarovski Museum, created in 1995 for the centenary of the company. It is a huge underground cave and is located about an hour's drive from Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol. If the Tyroleans had not set up a museum in the cave, local gnomes would probably have settled here. A labyrinth of seven rooms connected by stairs and narrow corridors would suit their taste.
The entrance to the cave is guarded by a giant rooted into the hill with burning eyes. A waterfall pours out of his mouth. In the light of the spotlights, it seems that the water is also made of crystal. A glass tunnel leads underground. Engraved on the walls are lines from Shakespeare, Lorca, and Goethe, which contain the word “crystal” - crystal. The smallest and largest Swarovski crystals included in the Guinness Book of Records are exhibited here. The weight of the giant is 310,000 carats (approximately 62 kilograms), diameter is 40 centimeters. One hundred facets of the crystal are cast either with a scattering of garnet lights or with cold silver glitter shining through the darkness. The smallest crystal can only be seen with a microscope. Its diameter is only 0.8 millimeters. Among the exhibits are Salvador Dali’s “soft” watches made of crystal, the decoration of an Indian Maharajah’s horse, and an eleven-meter-high crystal wall.
A path about a meter wide and ten meters long leads to the next room. It is like a children's kaleidoscope, constantly changing color. Night stars twinkle in the three-dimensional space of the glass sky. The earth is covered with the blue light of the oceans, continents appear. Evolution, accelerated millions of times, populates the oceans with fish, the roar of lizards gives way to the singing of birds... Having been blinded by the light for a second, you find yourself as if inside a crystal. 590 triangular mirrors create this illusion, and it is hard to believe that the height of the crystal ceiling is only five meters. Glass abysses appear above, below and on the sides. The color palette changes, the sensations change. It seems that the voices, reflecting from the walls, are intertwined into an endless chord. By the way, the former violinist Swarovski demanded from his subordinates that music be heard in the crystal. Music of crystal. It’s paradoxical, but in this museum you don’t often think about the founder of the company. All attention is focused on the vibrations of sound and light, on the atmosphere created by crystal reflections. A similar effect is achieved in stereo cinemas, where you feel like a spectator and at the same time a hero of the film. Or during an interactive game. Needless to say, it's a thrill.
Over the years of the computer's existence, we have become accustomed to traveling through virtual worlds. The very fact of entering another reality no longer bothers us. We rarely think about how the second reality relates to the first. About the one who gives us dreams and creates illusions. Unlike most of us, Daniel Swarovski, born in the pre-computer era, understood that it was much more interesting to be a master of illusions than a consumer of them.
Making the world give preference to crystal and forget about diamonds is not so easy. But the history of the Swarovski brand proves that even this is possible. Daniel Swarovski gave the world glass jewelry and thereby set completely new rules in this image game. And all thanks to the fact that he was not afraid of introducing new technologies, did not divulge production secrets and was sensitive to the needs of modern society. The Swarovski business has remained in the hands of the same family for over a hundred years. Its traditions are honored, and all the efforts of the Swarovski family are devoted to the development and improvement of the family business.
The story began on October 24, 1862, when the future founder of big business, Daniel Swarovski, was born in Georgenthal, a small village in the mountains of Austria. His subsequent choice of profession was facilitated by the very place of his birth. The fact is that this territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has long been famous for its experienced glassblowers and glass grinders. And Daniel’s father himself made a living by making glass jewelry and polishing crystal. This occupation did not bring him much money, but, nevertheless, the modest savings of the Swarovski family were enough to send Daniel to study as an engineer in Paris.
It was there that the young man witnessed the rapidly spreading fashion for artificial diamonds. They looked real, but were accessible to a much wider audience. At that time, glass and crystal grinding was exclusively manual labor, and therefore took a lot of time. That is why, having once visited the World Electrotechnical Exhibition and become familiar with the work of the first electrical mechanisms, young Swarovski decides to create a machine that would allow artificial stones to be polished as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Developing a grinding machine and obtaining the corresponding patent took nine long years, but after that, Daniel Swarovski felt fully equipped to start his own production of artificial diamonds.
Hoping to escape his competitors, Daniel returns to his homeland and settles near the city of Innsbruck. It was there, in the Tyrolean mountains on the outskirts of the village of Wattens, that he took a fancy to an old factory, which, in his opinion, is excellent for the production of crystal stones. In addition, grinding machines required electricity, and it was possible to get it from a hydroelectric power station located nearby. By the way, true to tradition, Swarovski continues to provide itself with its own electricity to this day.
Daniel took over almost the entire production process. He designed the jewelry himself, he himself calculated the proportions of the various components to create crystal. His goal was to create stones so strong that they would not be afraid of mechanical cutting. And in the end, he succeeded. The first Swarovski crystal “diamond” saw the world in 1895, and from that moment on, a completely new fashion swept the world.
Daniel Swarovski, for little money, gave people what they wanted more than anything in the world - status, luxury and prestige. His crystals became so popular in a matter of days that they made even aristocratic society forget about diamonds. Costume jewelry was no longer considered a sign of poor taste and a thin wallet, and the jewelry he created was not shameful to wear even in the royal courts of Europe.
Swarovski jewelry sold out in Paris and St. Petersburg. They decorated the clothes of their fashion houses Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. Swarovski rhinestones were adored by Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. By the way, to this day the most fashionable couturiers strive to decorate their clothes with crystal “diamonds” - Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood and Christian Lacroix.
Daniel Swarovski immediately had many imitators, but none of them managed to create such transparent and durable rhinestones as those of the talented Austrian. The Swarovski company still keeps the technology for producing its jewelry a secret.
By the way, the founder of the company was not slow to involve his three sons - Wilhelm, Friedrich and Alfred - in his favorite business. Together, they were able to go far beyond the production of crystals alone. Thus, at the end of 1910, the Tyrolit company was created, the purpose of which was the production of grinding and sawing tools, and in 1937, the Swareflex company, which produces reflectors for roads, as well as reflective transitions and panels on highways. In 1948, Wilhelm Swarovski used his family's crystal in optics and created Swarovski Optik, which to this day remains the unwavering market leader in its products.
The year 1956 became tragic for the family of the great Austrian - at the age of 94, the founder of the family business, Daniel Swarovski, passed away. In connection with his death, the company predicted imminent decline and ruin. But that did not happen. In response to all the disappointing forecasts, Daniel’s grandson, Manfred Swarovski, introduces to the world a new technology that makes it possible to make crystal stones that shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow. Bright pebbles inhaled new life into the world of crystals, and fashionistas all over the world are rushing to stores with renewed vigor to buy amazing jewelry. Swarovski, meanwhile, continues to try itself in new directions, producing crystal chandeliers and tableware. Collectible crystal figurines are also beginning to be created under the Sylver Crystal brand.
Today, the Swarovski company belongs to Daniel’s great-great-granddaughter, Nadya Swarovski. And just like her great-great-grandfather, she strives to create high-quality jewelry that is accessible to the masses. Swarovski currently has 75 factories and almost 10,000 workers, and boasts 19 subsidiaries in more than 30 countries. And yet the company's headquarters are still located in the unremarkable Austrian town of Wattens.
Swarovski AG is an Austrian company specializing in the production of jewelry, figurines and cutting of synthetic and natural precious stones. Known as a manufacturer of rhinestones under the brand “Swarovski Crystals”.
Swarovski crystals are manufactured by Swarovski AG, located in Wattens, Tyrol. The Swarovski Group also includes Tyrolit (abrasives and cutting materials), Swareflex (reflective and luminescent road signs), Signity (synthetic gemstones) and Optik (optical instruments).
Daniel Swarovski was born on October 24, 1862 in Georgenthal, a small village in the mountains of Northern Bohemia. This territory was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was famous for its glass blowers, glass grinders and cutters. Every self-respecting Bohemian had a glass workshop. Daniel's father also polished small costume jewelry and cut crystal, using the same technique that jewelers use: he hand-applied facets that imitated diamond cuts onto the workpiece. His enterprise was not particularly large-scale, it was only enough for subsistence. Although Daniel worked in the family business, he dreamed of becoming a great violinist.
In 1880, Daniel went to study as an engineer in Paris. The observant young man noticed how quickly the fashion for imitation diamonds was spreading. They were called rhinestones - after the famous 18th century jeweler-fraudster Georges Frederic Strass, who lived a hundred years before Daniel was born. Strass passed off cut crystal shards as diamonds.
In 1889, at the World Exhibition in Paris, young Swarovski became acquainted with the new possibilities of electrical mechanisms and decided to create a machine for cutting and polishing crystal and glass.
In 1891, he designed the world's first electric grinding machine. This machine made it possible to process stones and crystal in quantities incomparable with manual processing, and in appearance the new products differed favorably from Bohemian glass and crystal, and most importantly, they made it possible to put crystal on a par with other precious stones.
But Daniel Swarovski decided not to return to his homeland, fearing competition with Bohemian craftsmen, and also due to the high cost of electricity in Bohemia. In Austria, not far from Innsbruck, in the small village of Wattens, he found an old, empty factory. He was attracted by the opportunity to exploit the potential of a hydroelectric power station in the Tyrolean Mountains (and today Swarovski still produces its own electricity).
In 1895, Daniel Swarovski founded the Swarovski company in the small village of Wattens, Austria, where he built a hydroelectric power station on a mountain river. This made it possible to provide the plant with inexpensive and autonomous electricity. Daniel Swarovski called his new product “Swarovski crystals” and offered it to fashion houses in Paris for use in finishing dresses and in the production of costume jewelry.
He designed jewelry himself and himself developed a new process for making crystal, managing to develop the optimal combination of initial mixtures for cooking crystal of supernatural transparency and which was not afraid of machine cutting. The new composition included soda, potash, red lead, and quartz sand, mixed in a certain proportion. So far no one in the whole world has been able to do anything like this. Swarovski rhinestones sparkled like real diamonds. However, Swarovski never tried to hide the fact of imitation, since he was confident in the true and original beauty of crystal. Swarovski brought to the fore secular splendor, prestige, the right to be chosen and other illusions that people associate with precious stones. Diamonds had to make room. Fashion reacted instantly. Costume jewelry has ceased to be in bad taste even in the royal courts of Europe. The demand for crystal “diamonds” from Swarovski was enormous.
The Swarovski factory was inundated with orders. He had to expand the premises and hire 200 workers. It was then that the company received the name Swarovski, so that the product released to the market would not be nameless.
Over the course of several years, Swarovski, together with his sons, perfected the technology of cutting and polishing crystals. It turned out that in the whole world he was the only one who knew how to achieve the supernatural transparency of crystal. The main competitors of the cunning Daniel, the famous glass factories of Venice, were on the verge of ruin. So far no one has been able to do anything like this, no matter how hard they tried. Even Bohemian glassblowers could not outdo their fellow countryman. Many people have tried industrial cutting. It was then that it became clear that Swarovski’s strength was not so much in the machines, but in the formula that he developed for melting his crystal.
In 1929, Swarovski introduced a whole line of reflective automotive glass called Swareflex. After some more time, a whole series of optical instruments appeared, including binoculars. And the military campaign began again, this time World War II.
By this time, the Swarovski brand had become known in the United States, which allowed the company not to curtail its activities and continue to operate. Apparently the policy does not apply to jewelry and, despite the fact that Austria was on Hitler’s side, the popularity of this company’s products was still great.
Daniel sent samples of his jewelry to Paris and St. Petersburg. Fashionistas received the new items with delight. Years later, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Jackson, Bryan Ferry, and Tina Turner included crystal jewelry in their evening dresses and stage costumes. Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent still trim their dresses with crystal. During World War II, when European fashion houses collapsed, the cunning Swarovski managed to sell his crystal products in the United States.
In October 1945, he initiated the creation of an “industrial and craft school for advanced training of workers in glass, optics, steel and metal,” enrolled the first students and trained them as specialists in precision optics. From it, in 1957, a vocational school for opticians was formed in Hall, which today trains specialists from almost all Austrian states. Thanks to the proprietary “school-training workshop” training system, the company was soon able to provide itself with its own qualified replenishment, as well as gain independence in technology. From 1949 to 2000, 294 students completed their professional studies in optics and precision mechanics at the company. Many of them later became foremen or heads of departments.
Daniel Swarovski's eldest son Wilhelm was interested in astronomy, which led him to making binoculars of his own design. In 1949, the company first introduced binoculars that used aspherical lenses, which ensured high and uniform image clarity and low levels of chromatic aberrations at large values angle of view. Binoculars are very expensive.
In 1956, the founder of the company died, leaving the family a thriving business.
In 1965, Swarovski began producing expensive crystal chandeliers that instantly gained popularity. They decorate such famous halls as the Metropolitan Opera, Versailles, Windsor. In 1976, an amusing mouse was assembled from chandelier pendants, which opened up a completely new direction for the company’s products. The mouse was followed by a hedgehog, a turtle, a fawn, a rhinoceros, a swan... Over time, a whole zoo of glass animals was formed. Swarovski marketers have given all of them the status of collectibles. Today, the price of these figures ranges from $30 to $600.
In 1985, in collaboration with the fashion house Cristian Dior, Swarovski created the famous AB effect (lat. Aurora Borealis, translated northern lights). This was a new breakthrough in fashion industry, and Swarovski continued to work on creating new effects and colors of Swarovski crystals. The company continues to collaborate with leading designers in the global fashion industry to this day. For example, in 2014 the company created a collection of crystals with Maison Martin Margiela, and in 2015 with Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Since 2012, Swarovski began producing a new generation of Advanced Crystal crystals that do not contain lead oxide (the content in some crystals does not exceed 0.009%) - an element that has traditionally been used in crystals and crystals to give them shine and transparency. Since lead oxide is an extremely toxic and dangerous element, Swarovski’s task was to achieve a new chemical formula that eliminates the presence of lead oxide, but preserves the consumer qualities of the crystals. This was achieved in 2012. And from now on, Swarovski crystals are environmentally friendly.
In 2014, new Swarovski crystals (rhinestones) were released with the Xirius cut, which has 17 facets. This cut gives the crystals more sparkle, depth and sparkle.
Rhinestone, husband. genus (from its own name) - an artificial stone made from crystal with an admixture of lead, similar in brilliance and play to precious stones. Note that "rhinestone" is inclined the same way as the word "pelvis". Rhinestone pattern- this is just as un-Russian as water from the basin. Right: made of rhinestones.
Crystal (from the Greek krystallos - crystal) is a special type of glass, which contains significant quantities of lead or barium oxide. The name "crystal" was given by analogy with rock crystal. Due to the lead content and a certain selection of angles formed by the edges, crystal products are distinguished by an unusually bright, multi-colored play of light. (TSB)
Swarovski rhinestones are often called crystals on the Internet, which is a mistake. “The lens is a lenticular transparent body (biconvex lens) located inside the eyeball” (TSB)
| In recent years, the expression has become widespread Swarovski crystals. Looks like it's a translation from English "Swarovski crystals". Why is such a name ignorant? As we know from school and as Wikipedia reminds us, crystals (from the Greek κρύσταλλος, originally ice, later rock crystal, crystal) are solids in which atoms are arranged regularly, forming a three-dimensional periodic spatial arrangement - a crystal lattice. Of course, the atomic structure of Swarovski stones does not fall under this definition in any way: glass is an alloy where the atoms are disordered in space. If the correct, symmetrical shape of a real crystal is determined by its atomic structure, in particular, by the arrangement of lattice planes, then the shape of Swarovski rhinestones does not depend on their structure, but only on casting, polishing and human imagination. | |
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Swarovski rhinestones have nothing to do with crystals |
 ... and a real crystal does not at all resemble rhinestones |
Since June 20010, Swarovski has once again changed its brand. The entire range of its products intended for business - rhinestones, buttons, appliqués, braids, zippers with rhinestones, etc. - all this together is now called SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS (from 2007 to 2010 - CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements).
Daniel Swarovski was born on October 24, 1862 in Georgenthal, a small village in Northern Bohemia. At that time, this area was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, from the beginning of the 17th century, was famous for its glass grinders and cutters. In 1892, Daniel Swarovski filed a patent for a machine that polished rhinestones with hitherto unprecedented speed and precision. This gave him a significant advantage over local producers - which he had to give up: first of all, it was clear that competitors in Northern Bohemia would immediately take advantage of the new processing method. In addition, this region did not have water resources or sources of electricity necessary to operate new machines.
So he looked for a place where he could put his ideas into practice, and finally found an old, empty factory in Wattens, a small village of 744 people located 15 km east of Innsbruck, in the Tyrolean Inna Valley. On October 1, 1895, Daniel Swarovski left his homeland to pursue his dream. At that time, he could hardly imagine that he was laying the foundations of a company that - less than a hundred years later - would become the world's largest manufacturer of ground glass. Today, Swarovski annually produces 20 billion stones, glass objects and decorations, chandelier pendants, polishing tools, optical instruments, and reflective elements for roads.
The owners of the enterprise remain family members - descendants bearing the same surname.
Differences between Swarovski products and products from other companies:
Variety of shapes and colors
Cleanliness and precision of grinding and cutting (accuracy up to micron)
Material: since 2012, the company has been using a new material in the production of rhinestones - Advanced Crystal. Modern SWAROVSKI crystals do not contain lead dioxide, which was traditionally used to add brightness and shine. SWAROVSKI has developed a unique patented composition that preserves the brightness and shine of the crystals, but does not contain toxic and hazardous lead oxide (SWAROVSKI crystals contain 0.009% lead).
This makes SWAROVSKI crystals safe for use in jewelry, baby products, lingerie and home decoration.
Resistance of spraying and mirror coating
The standard Swarovski collection includes more than 100,000 different stones of all possible shapes used in jewelry. Round stones are produced in sizes ranging from 1 mm to almost 30 mm in diameter. The number of edges during grinding ranges from 16 to 56, depending on the area of application of the stones. Swarovski accounts for 80% of all glass stones (rhinestones) produced in the world for jewelry (Czech products - 10%). Eighty percent of all costume jewelry manufacturers buy Swarovski stones, including such large and well-known companies as Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel.
The company has repeatedly re-branded its business segment. Over the past ten years, rhinestones have been marketed as “crystal components”, “crystal elements”, and “Crystallized Swarovski Elements”. The latest name for Austrian rhinestones, adopted in 2010, is Swarovski Elements (see also the new website - http://www.swarovski-elements.com). The purpose of this active marketing effort is not only to increase the attractiveness of rhinestones for consumers, but also to add bonuses for business partners, such as promoting new applications and sales methods.
We are going to produce products with Swarovski crystals (SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS). How can I prove to buyers that this is real Austrian crystal? Can I use the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS brand on my products?
The national certificate of origin will not have of great importance to determine authenticity. This paper is issued each time for a specific batch of such and such a date and such and such a weight, to a specific distributor. Individual positions are not listed in it. Thus, from the buyer's point of view, the connection between the abstract 100 kg shipment sent to authorized wholesaler X and the rhinestone product in the retail store will not be obvious.
Of course, the most convincing proof of authenticity is the quality of Swarovski products. A seal on a document can be faked, a certificate can be bought, but the cut and shine cannot be imitated.
However, formal confirmations may be required, for example when entering into a production or supply agreement. Since 2007, loyal customer-manufacturers have had the opportunity use the Swarovski brand in product names. You need to submit a request, complete and sign a special brand agreement. You can obtain the questionnaire from your distributor. Swarovski reserves the right to control the use of its name and to protect it from abuse.
Swarovski elements are different:
1. clear and even cut, without chips or unpolished areas
2. standard forms
3. bright shine, no clouding
4. purity of color, absolutely the same for all stones in one pack
5. smooth, durable spraying (for AB colors)
Since 2013, Swarovski has been producing stones with a new, patented cut (XIRIUS), and since 2004, rhinestone packaging has several degrees of protection: barcode, individual identification number, holographic relief inscription SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS (formerly CRYSTALLIZED SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS), new logo, holographic embossed sticker with logo on the reverse side. In addition, each pack is sealed, and to open it you need to tear off the perforated strip on the back.
Common defects of counterfeits:
1. the side edges are not polished 2. the top edge is unusually small 3. there is no shine
2. unusually large top edge and small side edges
3. chips are visible
In addition to obvious defects, fakes also have hidden ones: after the dress has been hung up or a manicure has been applied, low-quality stones begin to fall off the backing, quickly lose their shine, and peel off. The easiest way to determine the origin of rhinestones is by general signs: if the seller does not have original Swarovski packaging, if glass dust and small debris are mixed with the stones, if there are stones in one package different colors and sizes - all this suggests that the rhinestones did not arrive at this retail outlet from an Austrian factory.
Ekarel Corp. has been a Russian distributor of Swarovski since 1993. In 2010, we were awarded the CRYSTALLIZED™ Authorized Wholesaler Certificate - Swarovski Elements(from June 1, 2010 - simply SWAROVSKI® ELEMENTS). We work only with crystal elements - i.e. individual rhinestones, rhinestone fittings, appliqués, etc. - and, with the exception of crystal tattoos, we do not sell finished products. Our clients include large enterprises, retail chains, and famous designers. Prices and service are aimed at wholesale buyers. This website was created for them, the purpose of which is to provide maximum information support to our current and future partners.
Every woman, even secretly, has a love for precious metals and beautiful, iridescent stones. But for many, jewelry is simply unaffordable. Therefore, real gold or stones are usually given on the occasion of a very significant event - a wedding, the birth of a child or an anniversary. But everyone wants to show off precious stones, causing the admiration and envy of others. None women's dress will not shine with its beauty as fully as in combination with jewelry made of gold, silver and precious stones. You won’t go to a serious event with cheap jewelry, but it’s also not socially accepted to go to social events without jewelry. An excellent solution for many was the idea of Daniel Swarovski. He is the founder of the world-famous company for the production of crystal jewelry, whose name is Swarovski.
Born in 1862, Daniel was doomed to work in glass and crystal from childhood. The fact is that he was born in Northern Bohemia, a small village located on the outskirts of the country. This state in those years belonged to Austria-Hungary and was famous for its glass processing workshops - the nature and climate were very optimal for this activity. Father Daniel also had his own workshop. She did not bring in much income; it was enough for the family to live. Little Swarovski often helped his father in the workshop, but did not have much interest in glass processing. The boy always wanted to become a musician, and the object of his desire was the violin. It is already known that those who love classical music adore beautiful and graceful objects. Daniel was no exception. Watching how ordinary glass becomes beautiful and incredibly shiny after professional processing, the boy was amazed. Later, he mastered all the subtleties of working with glass, which were very useful to him in the future.
However, his parents were against their son becoming a musician and insisted that he receive an education in Paris. Daniel obediently fulfilled his parents' request. And it was there, in Paris, that he decided to future life. Being inquisitive and versatile, he attended various exhibitions and presentations. One fine day he went to the World Electricity Exhibition. And it was there that he saw a device that seemed really interesting to him. There, a method of processing glass using electric current was presented - at that time it was the latest achievement and discovery in the world of science and technology. Daniel, like no one else, understood the advantage of this invention. It’s not for nothing that he spent his entire childhood in a glass processing workshop, helping his father.
10 years after he visited the exhibition, Swarovski himself became the author and creator of a glass grinding machine, which was immediately patented. After this, he firmly decided to continue the family business. But he did not return to his homeland - after all, many glass masters worked there, and he did not want competition. To everyone's surprise, his choice fell on a small village in Austria. In the small village of Wattens, he found an old empty factory and secured access to energy from a hydroelectric power station in the Tyrolean mountains. By the way, Swarovski still uses only its own electricity.
Daniel Swarovski designed the jewelry himself. He developed a new crystal manufacturing process that allows the use of the optimal combination of mixtures to produce stunningly clear crystal that is not afraid of machine cutting.
This mixture included soda, potash, quartz sand and red lead, mixed in a certain proportion. As a result, the unique Swarovski rhinestones sparkled like genuine diamonds. Moreover, Swarovski never tried to pass off his crystals as natural diamonds, as he was convinced of the excellent beauty of crystal as such.
History claims that Swarovski did not create his company alone. Its very first name was “D.S. & Co" - Daniel Swarovski and company. He had a partner who helped him significantly with his finances. A few years later, already being the sole owner of the company, Daniel claimed that there was no partner and he achieved success himself.
1985 is considered the official beginning of the production of glass “diamonds”. In my own way appearance, processed crystal, at first glance, was no different from real precious stones. And the price of Swarovski products was much lower. So there was immediately an overwhelming demand for Swarovski crystals. Compared to his competitor Strass (who invented rhinestones and passed them off as precious stones at a high price), Swarovski never hid the fact that all his products were made of ordinary glass, which earned him universal respect.
This is how Daniel Swarovski was able to establish mass production of luxury, social splendor, prestige, the right to be chosen and other illusions and dreams associated with precious stones. It was thanks to Daniel's crystals that jewelry ceased to be considered a sign of bad taste even in European royal courts. The demand for Swarovski crystals has exceeded the demand for diamonds.
Daniel Swarovski had to expand his factory and hire two hundred workers. And finally, in 1900, the Swarovski brand arose, which quickly gained popularity and the hearts of all socialites without exception.
Today Swarovski products have no competitors. Despite all the tricks and ideas of those who are trying to overtake this powerful company in creating crystal, all the same, Swarovski crystals shine much brighter and cannot be distinguished from real diamonds with the naked eye. Jewelry Swarovski is distinguished not only by the variety of shapes and colors, but primarily by the cutting of crystals and high precision grinding, as well as by durable spraying and mirror coating.
The secret of creating crystal from Swarovski is still a mystery. The company has many patents from fans and points of sale around the world. Those unscrupulous competitors who try to pass off their glass products as Swarovski crystals are immediately defeated, since no one has yet succeeded in inventing exactly the same products. And this is the secret of the brand’s success and popularity.
The newest technologies of our time were introduced into production, which made it possible to expand the scope of use of Swarovski crystals, and in particular, new crystal cutting, new shapes, coating and color. This beautiful material is purchased for work by famous Italian and French fashion houses (Roberto Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood, Givenchy). The products are in great demand among wedding salons and shops, and are actively used in production. wedding decorations and accessories.
Modern products from Swarowski are presented not only in the form of jewelry, but also in the form of beautiful souvenir figurines, figurines, beautiful paintings with crystals and other materials. And for those who want to experience history with their own eyes, we recommend visiting the Swarovski Museum, which was opened in 1995 in the city of Innsbruck (Austria). The museum was also opened in the year of the company’s centenary and is a real treasure for crystal lovers. The most interesting exhibits are the largest and smallest Swarovski crystals included in the Guinness Book of Records.
It is a mistake to believe that Swarovski crystals are only a minor counterfeit of diamonds. For example, one of the famous designers, Anna Sui, quite often uses crystal products to create her collections and is very proud of it. Anna Sui once admitted that she always leaves room for Swarovski crystals in all her New York stores, because she loves them very much and considers them truly high-quality jewelry. As you can see, all of the above facts are enough to recognize the merits of Swarovski jewelry.
