INDEX: Swarovski Retail Fixtures

INDEX:
Swarovski Retail Fixtures

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SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS AND LINKS…
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This Swarovski Retail Fixtures index page aggregates links
to all post and photos of tretail merchandising, display, and outfitting
as well as deep Background courtesy of Wikipedia.

BACKSTORY: Swarovski (/swɒrˈɒfski/ sworr-OFF-skee, German pronunciation: [svaˈrɔfski]) is an Austrian producer of crystal headquartered in Wattens, Austria. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, that primarily produces crystal jewelry and accessories; Swarovski Optik, which produces optical instruments of high precision such as telescopes and binoculars; Tyrolit, a leading manufacturer of grinding, sawing, drilling, and dressing tools, as well as a supplier of tools and machines.

Today, Swarovski Crystal Business is the highest grossing business unit with a global reach of approximately 2,800 stores in around 170 countries, more than 27,000 employees, and a revenue of about 2.6 billion euros (in 2016).

Daniel Swarovski was born in northern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).^[1] His father was a glass cutter who owned a small glass factory. It was there that the young Swarovski served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.^[2]^[3]

In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosman, Daniel Swartz & Co.—later shortened to K.S. & Co.^[1] The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes Daniel Swarovski patented.^[2]^[4]

Nadja Swarovski, the founder’s great-great granddaughter, is a member of the Swarovski executive board.^[5] In 1977 Swarovski entered the jewelry market in the United States.

The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal glass sculptures and miniature, jewelry and couture, home decor, and chandeliers. It is best known for its small animal figurines, which have loyal and longstanding collectors and fans.

All sculptures are marked with a logo. The original Swarovski logo was an edelweiss flower, which was replaced by an S.A.L. logo, which was finally replaced with the current swan logo in 1988.^[6]

To create crystal glass that lets light refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its products with special metallic chemical coatings. For example, Aurora Borealis, or “AB”, gives the surface a rainbow appearance.^[7] Other coatings are named by the company, including Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, and Dorado. Coatings may be applied to only part of an object; others are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X, etc.

In 2004 Swarovski released Xilion, a copyrighted cut designed to optimise the brilliance of Roses (components with flat backs) and Chatons (diamond cut).

The Swarovski Group includes Tyrolit (makers of abrasive and cutting tools); Swareflex (reflective and luminous road markings); Signity (synthetic and natural gemstones); and Swarovski Optik (optical instruments such as binoculars and rifle scopes).

In 2014, Tristan da Cunha issued a five crown Christmas coin where the reverse has a small Swarovski crystal set in the guiding star behind a colour picture of one of the magi.^[8]

Swarovski have created a line of liquid and solid perfumes.^[9]

The company runs a crystal-themed museum, Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) at its original Wattens site (near Innsbruck, Austria). The Crystal Worlds Centre is fronted by a grass-covered head, the mouth of which is a fountain. The grass-covered Crystal Worlds Centre houses exhibitions related to, or inspired by, the crystals but do not include explanations of how the designs are made, produced or finished.

Swarovski work was exhibited at Asia’s Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair based on the concept of a single continuous beam of fragmented light travelling through a crystal.^[10] (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

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