In 1895 Daniel Swarovski moved to Wattens in Austria where he could generate his own electricity from alpine streams and keep the secrets of his inventions safe. He went into business at a time when the arts, literature, music and science were cross-pollinating right across Central Europe; surrounded by the inspiration of Mitteleuropa and all that it represented, the company was steeped in culture, innovation and creativity from the outset.
For more than 113 years there has been one name that has been consistently and inextricably linked to precision cut crystal and fashion. The founder of the company, Daniel Swarovski I, was born in 1862 in Northern Bohemia, which happened to be the centre of a flourishing crystal and costume jewellery industry. In such a setting it's perhaps unsurprising that Daniel was fascinated with the colourful brilliance of faceted stones from his earliest years. Moreover, as a young man he showed an aptitude for invention and entrepreneurship that was to form the basis of what today is a family company employing more than 20,000 and with a presence in more than 120 countries.
Swarovski has always been on the cutting edge of innovation and creativity and today engages in intensive trend research so that the company's products always reflect what is new, brilliant and beautiful. With the company's long history of collaboration with the world's leading designers and couturiers, Swarovski crystal understands the creative process involved in using crystal to bring highly individual visions to life. Now, through the CREATE YOUR STYLE with Swarovski crystal initiative, the company shares this exciting process with fashion-forward individuals, opening up a new world of personal expression through crystal.
This initiative aims to create a 'global village' of like-minded people with a passion for expressing their style through personally designed jewellery, accessories and decorative items for the home. www.create-your-style.com facilitates the exchange of creative ideas, design and style tips, news and information about international competitions through a vibrant online community. It provides a list of RECOMMENDED STORES that reflect the high standards demanded by Swarovski. Here shoppers can discover their own style, explore their creativity and seek expert advice.
Therefore since the 19th century, Swarovski has insisted on its “high fashion” strategy. It created the Aurora Borealis collection for Christian Dior in 1956. A special technology to quickly fix the crystal to various fabrics without damaging them called Hotfix is now still widely employed by many haute couture brands like Givenchy and Ungaro. What’s more, the classic Coco Chanel button, and many jewelry accessories of 1960’s Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier and Giuseppe Zanotti collections came from Swarovski. The company also invited Chinese couture designer, Yiqing Yin, who had a big success in Paris Fashion Week 2012, to front SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS 2012 advertising campaign with her stunning ‘Devil Fish’ couture jacket.
During the opening decades of the 20th century, Swarovski crystals became an essential ingredient in the heady world of high fashion. The company worked with iconic figures like Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and later, Christian Dior. The glittering, light filled crystals were irresistible to artists like jazz singer Josephine Baker, then to Hollywood icons like Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
The success of the company today is directly related to the fact that the fourth and fifth generation family management still respect the principles of the Daniel Swarovski I: excellence in business practice and product quality, constant innovation, a desire to create products of great beauty, and the observance of meaningful humanistic values in all its dealings with its employees, business partners, the community and the environment.
113 years after its founding, Swarovski is still driven to always improve on what is good. When the company history is retold in future years, the CREATE YOUR STYLE with Swarovski crystal initiative will most certainly be another extremely important chapter.
The block SC logo was the original logo used on Swarovski figurines in the Silver Crystal product line. Essentially, the logo is the letter C, with the letter S inside the open part of the C. The company used this Swarovski logo from 1976 until 1988. Crystal bearing the block SC logo means that the crystal was made sometime during those years.
The Swan logo was the Swarovski logo that replaced the block SC logo used on the Silver Crystal product line. Swarovski began using the swan logo in 1988 and still uses a swan logo today. Crystal bearing the Swan logo means that the crystal was produced 1988 or later. When collectors are swan seekers, they are looking for crystal with the swan logo.
Since some crystal retired before 1988, that crystal would be found only with the block SC logo. However, some crystal was introduced when the block SC logo was in use (prior to 1988), but the crystal did not retire until after the swan logo was introduced (1988), so those pieces can be found with either logo. The crystal may contain the old logo or the swan logo, but not both Swarovski logos on a single item.