A brief introduction to Swarovski Crystals

The Swarovski logo can be identified by the famous swan but the original was an edelweiss flower. The appearence is a crystal that creates a rainbow spectrum by allowing light to refract by coating with metallic chemcals such as aurora and crystal transmission. 

The Swarovski Group even have their own television channel called Swarovski Sparkles TV Swarovski Crystal Palace is dedicated to specialised designs and furniture that can be custom made, or one off peices and have attracted a lot of media attention this year. 

Famous products include

The Swarovski-crystal-covered Christmas tree at the Toronto Eaton Centre in 2006.

Xilion is a new cut released in 2004, which is copyrighted and is designed to "optimise the brilliance of roses."

The Swarovski Group even has an indoor theme park called Swarovski Kristallwelten which translates as "Crystal Worlds" situated near Inssbruck in Austria at its original Wattens site.

It's not difficult to understand why these crystals are used by the rich and famous in the most spectacular shows and costumes as well as the most unique designs and collector’s items.

Examples include:

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City. Since 2004, the tree has been home to a 550 pound star which is 9 foot in diameter created by Swarovski. 

FILM:
Swarovski sponsored the 2004, "The Phantom of the Opera film which featured a Swarovski shop window using the swan logo however to have been truly accurate, the logo in the show window should have been the eidelwess flower which would have been the current logo for the period in which the film was set.

Swarovski even emplemented a gloabal movie campaign for the first time ever promoting the long awaited Sex and the City Movie in more tha 550 of their stores world wide. You won't forget that 'Nirvana' ring as well as the Era bag and the Kiosque Bag and was seen to be "the perfect fit for Sex and the City as they both evoke glamour, femininity and style."

CELEBRITY

Swarovski supported the British Fashion Awards in November 2008 for the third consecutive year running and that year the famous chandelier was actually designed by no less than the Lenny Kravitz!!!

MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Jackson has spent a million pounds on Swarovski crystals for his comeback concert with over 300,000 crystals used for his costume and set in the 02 arena in London.

The Vice President of the Swarovski Crystal Business Nadja Swarovski commented that "As the King of Pop it is only natural for him to be crowned in crystal."

MADONNA

On Madonna's 'Sticky and Sweet' Tour, 2008 over 1.5 million crystals were used. This included over 700 metres of crystal mesh and if all of the crystals had been lined up it would have made up half a kilometre of crystals. This was an excellent example of the use of colour with the crystals where vibrant reds and orange tones were key. My favourite creation is the DJ headset which was made of loose hotfix crystals. The whole lot would have taken over 300 man hours to put together.

UNUSUAL SWAROVSKI ITEMS

A Swarovski Crystal gold plated bike is the world's most expensive at $102,418.60USD. There is also a Swarovski Bosendorfer semi-concert grand piano which is located in Las Vegas and is the most expensive piano ever auctioned on ebay! It can be bought for $750,000USD and has 8000 swarovski crystals.