IT BEGAN IN THE 19TH CENTURY IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE. DANIEL SWAROVSKI WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 24, 1862 IN GEORGENTHAL, BOHEMIA.
AT THAT TIME BOHEMIA WAS THE TOP PRODUCTION CENTER IN THE WORLD FOR GLASS AND CRYSTAL PRODUCTS.
DANIEL'S FATHER OPERATED A CRYSTAL FACTORY. HE WAS HIGHLY ESTEEMED FOR HIS FINE SKILL IN THE ART OF MANUALLY CUTTING CRYSTAL. IT WAS THERE, AS A YOUNG BOY, DANIEL LEARNED HIS PASSION FOR THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF MAKING GLASS INTO CRYSTAL OBJECTS OF BEAUTY AND BY AGE 21 HE COMPLETED HIS HIGHLY SKILLED, TRADE APPRENTICESHIP.
IN 1883 DANIEL ATTENDED THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL ELECTRICAL EXHIBITION, "ELEKTRISCHE AUSSTELLUNG" IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA WHERE HE MET THOMAS EDISON, CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT INVENTORS OF THE WORLD.
TRULY INSPIRED, DANIEL HAD A BRILLIANT IDEA: BUILD A MACHINE FOR THE PRECISE CUTTING OF CRYSTAL! DETERMINED TO REALIZE HIS VISION, HE WORKED ON HIS DESIGN FOR 9 YEARS. IN 1892, DANIEL REGISTERED A PATENT ON THE MACHINE HE EXCLUSIVELY INVENTED, WHICH MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME, TO CUT CRYSTAL TO PERFECTION. DANIEL'S INVENTION WAS REVOLUTIONARY! IT FOSTERED A NEW AGE IN THE WORLD OF MANUFACTURING & CUTTING GEMS & CRYSTAL PRODUCTS.
THE SWAROVSKI COMPANY WAS ESTABLISHED BY DANIEL SWAROVSKI, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, FRANZ WEIS AND A GOOD FRIEND, ARMOND KOSMANN. ON OCTOBER 1, 1895, DANIEL & HIS PARTNERS FOUND THE IDEAL LOCATION IN THE AUSTRIAN ALPS, IN WATTENS. THERE THEY BUILT THE FACTORY & LAUNCHED THEIR VISION. THE ABUNDANT WATER RESOURCES IN THIS AREA MADE IT A PERFECT LOCATION FOR HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER & IT WAS IDEALLY LOCATED NEAR EXCELLENT TRADE ROUTES TO EUROPEAN FASHION CENTERS, LIKE ITALY & PARIS, WHERE THE DEMAND FOR SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL JEWELRY STONES WAS SUPREME.
CONSTRUCTION IN WATTENS PROCEEDED AND BY 1907 THE HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT WAS FULLY OPERATIONAL, PRODUCING AN ABUNDANT SOURCE OF CLEAN ENERGY. DANIEL'S SONS, WILHELM, FREDRICH & ALFRED HAD JOINED THE COMPANY. IN 1908 THEY BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH CRYSTAL PRODUCTION AND BUILT THEIR OWN MELTING OVENS, DISCOVERING & PERFECTING THE "RECIPE" FOR CREATING OPTICALLY FLAWLESS GLASS CRYSTAL.
THE IMPACT OF WWI CREATED A SHORTAGE OF MACHINE PARTS AND RAW MATERIALS, SO DANIEL CREATED HIS OWN LINE OF GRINDING WHEELS AND DRESSING TOOLS USED IN THE MECHANICS OF CUTTING CRYSTAL. IN 1917 SWAROVSKI OFFERED THESE TOOLS TO THE OPEN MARKET UNDER THE REGISTERED TRADEMARK, "TYROLIT."
THE PRODUCTION OF FLAWLESS, BRILLIANTLY CUT, SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL JEWELRY STONES WERE SO SUCCESSFUL, THEY WERE COVETED EVERYWHERE BY FASHION HOUSES, JEWELRY DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF FINE AND HIGH END COSTUME JEWELRY WORLDWIDE.
AS THE COMPANY GREW SO DID IT'S NUMEROUS LINES OF PRODUCTS INCLUDING THE FIRST PROTO-TYPE PAIR OF OPTICALLY FLAWLESS BINOCULARS DESIGNED BY ELDEST SON, WILHELM SWAROVSKI. THIS LED THE WAY TO THE SWAROVSKI "OPTIKS" DIVISION. IN 1925
SWAROVSKI BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH GLASS REFLECTIVE ELEMENTS FOR USE IN PRODUCING
REFLECTIVE ROAD MARKERS & ROAD SIGNS UNDER THE SWAREFLEX TRADEMARK.
THE MOST BRILLIANT & MAGNIFICENT CRYSTALS FOUND IN VINTAGE AND CURRENT FASHION:
IN JEWELRY, ON ACCESSORIES & TRIMMINGS, JEWELRY CRYSTALS INCORPORATED IN DECORATIVE LACES, BANDS & APPLIQUES FOR CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR, CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS (STRASS TRADEMARK), STATE OF THE ART SWAROVSKI TELESCOPES & BINOCULAR LENSES & OTHER OPTICAL PRODUCTS (SWARFLEX TRADEMARK), NUMEROUS LINES OF CRYSTAL ORNAMENTS, FIGURINES & OBJECTS OF BEAUTY, THE CRYSTALS ON DOROTHY'S SLIPPERS FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE CRYSTAL DIAMOND ENCRUSTED GOWN WORN BY MARILYN MONROE WHEN SHE SANG "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" TO PRESIDENT KENNEDY & SO MANY OTHER MEMORABLE MOMENTS ARE ALL A PART OF THE SWAROVSKI FAMILY LEGACY & A MAGNIFICENT LEGACY INDEED. VISIONARY, INVENTOR AND FOUNDER, DANIEL SWAROVSKI LIVED WELL TO THE AGE OF 94. HE FULLY REALIZED HIS LIFE LONG DREAMS!
TODAY, "THE SWAROVSKI COMPANY" HAS REMAINED A PRIVATELY OWNED FAMILY FIRM FOR OVER 113 YEARS. IT IS AN INTERNATIONAL ENTITY WITH NUMEROUS SUBSIDIARIES WORLDWIDE.
REMARKABLY, THE SWAROVSKI COMPANY HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR OVER A CENTURY. A "GREEN BUSINESS" FROM ITS VISIONARY INCEPTION, THRIVING AND ILLUMINATING BEAUTY IN OUR WORLD TODAY.
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