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Swarovski - the world renowned manufacturer of beautifully shaped, colored and ornate crystal products - grew out of a family business. Originally established in the early 19th century, this company has now spanned 3 centuries. The principal founder of this company Daniel Swarovski apprenticed within his father's own Bohemian glass foundry. Bohemia at that time was renowned throughout Europe and America for its particular style of crystal glass making, perhaps more so for its cheapness than quality when compared to, say, the beauty and expertise required for the production of Murano glass. It was towards the end of the 19th century that Daniel Swarovski came up with the idea of cutting glass with an electric powered tool.

The Glass Cutting Tool That Started It All

By 1892 he had produced a workable prototype machine and decided to patent his invention. So effective was this machine in cutting and creating precision and multifaceted crystal glass, that he proceeded to set up his own company with some other financiers, Weis and Kosman. For centuries, it had long been the habit for Bohemian glass foundries to be somewhat nomadic, needing to uproot their complete factory, with workers and families, and move to new forest lands, which would provide fuel for their furnaces for another decade or more. So, and after careful consideration, it was not too surprising that Swarovski and his new partners, Armand Kosman and Franz Weis, decided to set up the new company in a new country and away from glass manufacturing competitors. Wattens in the Austrian Alps, not far from Innsbruck, was the chosen site. The choice was based on the fact that there was the recently created hydro-electricity plant within the vicinity, which provided cheap electrical energy. This was clearly a sensible move since the new glass cutting production machinery required a considerable amount of electrical power generation for its grinding and polishing process and saved the need to migrate as and when local forest wood would have got depleted.

Sometime around 1895, with their patent granted, plans and construction went ahead for the initial factory production line, which was completed and in limited operation before the end of the year. As with all inventions, it took several years for the ironing out of flaws within the lead crystal glass production.

Flawless Crystal Production Becomes Fashionable

From the beginning of the 20th century, although Armand Cosman was still involved to a degree, the company was a family project and it was no surprise to see Daniel's sons all becoming involved within the factory. In fact it was Alfred, Friedrich and Wilhelm, three of his sons, who were able to change and upgrade the production process to enable the creation of what they are now most renowned for - one of the highest quality, fault-free, crystal products available at that time – and still to this day.

From 1913, and with the production line now able to create products of virtually faultless perfection and in greater quantities, their crystal jewellery became renowned as one of the finest in the world. In fact they have continued to maintain their reputation, market share and celebrity right into the 21st century.

It took another 10 years for the world of fashion to begin to court and create their long term romance with these stunning gemlike stones. Swarovski flirted with the idea of embedding crystals within the fabric. It was designers like Schaparelli and Chanel who responded to these advances and so won over the hearts of fashion designers, lovers and wearers alike.

The Aurora Borealis Innovation

Though the Great Depression of the early 1930s, and then also the Second World War reduced the demand for Swarovski glass, they were not altogether forgotten. However it took a new generation and the Aurora Borealis designs in the mid-1950s to re-establish and reaffirm their reputation and innovation. This line of jewellery was the creation of the grandson, Manfred Swarovski, and possessed a dreamlike sparkle of rainbow colors created by a trace metal coating. The process was brought to perfection with input from Christian Dior, the famous French fashion designer.

More Design Innovations Flow

The 1970s again saw new Swarovski innovations. Animal figurines of crystal were created in 1976, the earliest being that of the head of a mouse. It is said that the idea came while playing with parts used for the construction of crystal chandeliers. With the Olympic Games taking place at Innsbruck the same year, many of the Olympics visitors found this a souvenir they could not refuse. A year later the somewhat natural looking and sparkling Cubic Zirconia was created. It was synthetic, cheap and revolutionised the world of fashion and jewellery.

In the 1980s, vividly coloured jewellery, fashion handbags and accessories were added to their growing portfolio.

A Hundred Years and Beyond

The Hundred Year (1895 - 1995) Anniversary of the Swarovski company was lavishly celebrated with the opening of a spectacular crystal grotto in their original home town of Wattens in Austria known as Swarovski Kristallwelten or Swarovski's World of Crystal. Many designers, artists, artisans and musicians were asked to provide their creations to adorn this truly fabulous Aladdin's cave of crystal. Their fame and demand for their exquisite and scintillating products has been maintained and no doubt will continue for decades, if not centuries to come.

Related Reading: The History of Murano Glass

About the Author

Julian Pollock is the editor of Chandelier-Mall, which contains a detailed analysis of modern day chandeliers and related home lighting designs.