Girls' Best Friends - Swarovski Crystals

Swarovski is an Austrian company engaged in crystal processing and primarily known as a jewellery manufacturer. The company's official website - www.swarovski.com

The company owns the technology park Swarovski Kristallwelten - http://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/Content.Node/startseite.php. It is located near Innsbruck in Austria. Specifically - 6112 Wattens/Tirol, Austria.

In the summer of 2007 we visited this crystal museum, which was actually located underground, beneath the green hill - a man with crystal eyes and where words flow - mountain water. The museum consists of a foyer and 13 rooms. Each has its own theme, its own name and, of course, crystals, crystals, crystals.

In the entrance hall visitors are greeted by the largest Swarovski crystal - 310,000 carats - while a crystal wall accompanies visitors throughout the entire museum tour.

In room 10 - Floating Poems - and room 11 - Metamorphoses - the light-refracting properties of crystals are demonstrated in various light installations. In the first image, a light sculpture created by designer and architect Ron Arad. Letters slide along crystal garlands - text from the poem created by Hans Magnus Enzensberger for the Crystal World.

About Swarovski:

The beginning of the crystal's lifetime is 1892, when Daniel Swarovski invented the automatic crystal-cutting machine. A few years later - in 1895 - he founded the company Swarovski.

All Swarovski crystal creations have been marked with the company's trademark since the very beginning. Initially this was an edelweiss flower, but in 1988 it was replaced by a swan.

Swarovski crystals contain approximately 32% of various additives that promote the refraction of light rays in crystal products. To create the most pleasing sparkle for the eye, Swarovski coats some of its creations with a special metallic-chemical coating. "Aurora Borealis" is the most popular of the coatings, under the influence of which the crystal sparkles in all the colours of the rainbow.

The crystals are manufactured at Swarovski AG Feldmeilen, located near Zurich in Switzerland. The Swarovski company also encompasses 4 product groups - Tyrolit, which manufactures cutting materials; Swareflex, which produces reflective and luminescent road markings; Signity, which creates synthetic gemstones; and Optik, which manufactures various optical instruments.

The company Swarovski manufactures crystal sculptures, jewellery, clothing, chandeliers and many other accessories. It also sells costume jewellery and artificial diamonds. Under the company's umbrella works a wide circle of artists and simply affluent and creative people who create their own individual jewellery and accessory designs.

Swarovski Kristallwelten - after room 13, named the Crystal Forest, tour participants end up directly in the Swarovski products - primarily jewellery - shop, where company creations can be purchased without a retail mark-up. The 800 m² hall is full of jewellery display stands.

The little stones truly sparkle admirably in both sunlight and artificial lighting. One can say immediately - Swarovski! The prices are also reasonable - for example, a necklace from the latest collection - around 110 EUR; a bracelet - around 150 EUR; the most ordinary little ring - a band with crystals - from 13 to 18 EUR. Museum visitors could also receive a 2 EUR discount upon presenting their entry ticket. A small thing, but pleasant! Moreover, all purchases are carefully wrapped in dark blue velvet pouches and accompanied by a warranty booklet.
 What was disappointing was the fact that Swarovski crystals are primarily set in silver-coloured jewellery, less so in gold. Nor did we notice any genuine gold products for sale. The latter fact did indeed come back to haunt - as wearing the rings purchased there every day, one can observe the outer coating chipping off under the influence of sweat and friction. The little crystals remain just as lustrous, but the ring falls apart.

Some interesting facts:

• In 2007, Swarovski formed a partnership with one of the electronics giants, Philips, to create their own home appliance line - Active Crystals. The result was USB memory sticks adorned with crystals.
• The Swarovski company was the main sponsor in the production of the feature film "The Phantom of the Opera" (2004). In this film the large opera ceiling chandeliers sparkled with crystals.
• Since 21 January 2008, fans of Motorola mobile phones have been able to purchase the world's first Motorola KRZR created by the company Goldstriker, coated with platinum and Swarovski delights. The luxury version's Motorola KRZR platinum frame is coated with 336 top-quality Swarovski crystals.