Before Swarovski and its jewellery: the Strass

The glass crystal also called lead crystal made its appearance in the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment. When the first objects using this material appeared, crystal was considered a wonderful, precious, noble and desirable material. Long before Swarovski jewellery , in Paris a jeweller named Strass specialized in the manufacture of jewellery made from glass crystals and became famous for his creations, so much so that Strass became a common name for glass crystal.

Swarovski crystals: crystal and the will of a man: Daniel Swarovski.

Daniel Swarovski company founder

Daniel Swarovski is a young jewellery craftsman. His father is a jeweller in Gablonz, one of the major glass centres in Bohemia. That’s where he learns the size of bohemian crystals by hand. Daniel Swarovski grew up in this region specializing in the production of cut crystal for highly sought-after objets d’art, the famous Bohemian crystal.

The beginning of Swarovski’s history as a company: Daniel Swarovski’s move to Wattens, a village with many assets.

The magical reflections of the crystal make Daniel Swarovski want to find other applications for his crystal, particularly in women’s fashion. For this reason, in 1895, Daniel Swarovski left his native Bohemia. Daniel Swarovski decided to settle in Wattens, a small village in the Austrian Tyrol, which has watercourses that provide the hydraulic energy indispensable to any industrial enterprise at the beginning of the 19th century. It is a wise choice since this village is also located on a railway line that leads to Paris and also connects Moscow, Prague and Vienna. Daniel Swarovski therefore settles in Wattens where he creates his company. This is the very beginning of Swarovski’s history.

Daniel Swarovski’s ambition: to optimize the size and polishing of the crystals while reducing costs.

Daniel Swarovski is obsessed with improving crystal production. For this purpose, he creates his own crystal cutting and polishing machines with which he equips his company. Daniel Swarovski is one of the first men to industrialize crystal production and to create and equip his company with crystal cutting and polishing machines. At the same time Daniel Swarovski decided to perfect the aspects of crystal manufacturing.

The first crystal signed Swarovski: The Kitten

Daniel Swarovski develops a new crystal size, different from the classic size. He calls this new crystal the Kitten and revolutionizes jewelry. This new precision cut sublimates the play of light to give the crystal a hitherto unequalled brilliance. Thus Daniel Swarovski gives his name to a first creation which also appeals to industrialists because, thanks to its mechanised production, it enables a crystal to be produced with consistency in dimensions, facets and brilliance. Making it easier to produce objects with crystals, many jewels, hair ornaments and shoe buckles will adopt this new Swarovski crystal so intense and powerful.

A milestone in Swarovski’s history: the development of the Swarovski Kitten-sized Crystal.

1910: the crystal cutter also becomes a crystal producer.

From 1910 onwards Daniel Swarovski decided to produce the glass paste for his crystals himself in order to better control the quality and beauty of the finished product. Swarovski crystals thus acquire a powerful brilliance. The possession of this new production tool allows him to experiment in particular with coloured crystals. These colourful crystals will bring Swarovski right into the world of fashion. Elegance, glamour and femininity are the most appropriate adjectives to describe the contribution of Swarovski crystals to the fashion of the time.

Collaboration with the greatest fashion designers.

Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and later, Christian Dior, the latest creations by Daniel Swarovski must showcase the very best of fashion.

In the 1950s, Manfred Swarovski, grandson of Daniel Swarovski, created the Swarovski crystal “Aurore Boréale” for Christian Dior. The great couturier wanted a crystal that reminded him of the mirrors lit by candlelight and the candelabra of the Palace of Versailles. Swarovski crystal is in fact a crystal with a special coating that gives it the appearance of an iridescent stone pierced by flashes of fire in the colours of the rainbow.

Also to be read

• – How to choose Swarovski jewellery
• – the brands that use Swarovski Elements…
• – What is Swarovski Elements?
• – Swarovski heart jewellery

This entry was posted by Virginie .