Christmas Tree at the Eaton Centre, Swarovski christmas Hauptbahnhof in Zürich
trese in Toronto, in 2006. (Switzerland)
Swarovski (English pronunciation: /swɒrˈɒfski/ swor-OFF-skee[2]) is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria.
History
Daniel Swarovski (October 24, 1862 – January 23, 1956) was born in northern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). His father was a glass cutter who owned a small glass factory. It was here that a young Daniel served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.[3][4]
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.[5] The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes which Daniel Swarovski had patented.[3][6]
Products
The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal glass sculptures and miniatures, jewelry and couture, home decor and chandeliers.
All sculptures are marked with a logo. The original Swarovski logo was an edelweiss flower, which was replaced by a "S.A.L." logo which was finally replaced with the current swan logo in 1988.[7] The swan logo is being phased out in favor of simply the Swarovski name.
In order to create a piece of crystal glass that allows light to refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its products with special metallic chemical coatings. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow appearance.[8] Other coatings are named by the company, 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 copyrighted cut designed to optimise the brilliance of Roses (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. The grass-covered Crystal Worlds houses exhibitions related to, or inspired by, the crystals — but do not include explanations of how the famous designs are made, produced or finished.
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