The Swarovski Company was founded in the late 19th Century when Daniel Swarovski invented an automatic cutting machine for crystal, and in 1895 established a crystal cutting factory in Austria. The birthplace of the factory was Wattens, which was chosen because local hydroelectricity made the energy-intensive process involved more cost-effective.
Today Wattens is home to the Swarovski museum which tells the story of the founder and the company’s history and development right through to present day.The Swarovski range includes jewelry, couture, crystal sculptures and miniatures, home décor and chandeliers. They also create crystal beads and promote other designers including these in their work. In order to maximize refraction and to give Swarovski its magnificent sparkle, the crystal contains around 32% lead. Some of the crystals are also coated in order to refract a rainbow spectrum.
All Swarovski sculptures are marked with a logo, this was originally an edelweiss flower but was replaced by the current swan logo in 1988.Today all types of Swarovski crystal are hugely in demand as collectibles, and make a stunning display in any home, can be worn as vintage or contemporary jewelry or can be used as an investment piece as their popularity and value continues to rise.
Apart from beautiful crystals and stunning beads and jewelry Swarovski is also know for its range of binoculars and scopes. This may seem like quite a diverse range of products but what draws all parts of the company together is the engineering excellence which stems from the company’s quest for precision and ever higher standards.
In 1935, Wilhelm Swarovski, the 17 year old son of the founder of Swarovski, was a keen astronomer and this led to his desire to build a much improved binocular than those available in the day. Wilhelm had ready access to the engineering in his Father’s company and more importantly the glass production and finishing techniques that were so important in the production of Swarovski crystal. From these beginnings Swarovksi Optik was born and continues today to be a cutting edge leader in the industry.
Swarovski has a well deserved reputation for superior quality and thus Swarovski Optik binoculars and telescopes remain the preferred choice of many professional atronomers and nature watchers around the world.