Swarovski Swarovski: The Secret of Crystals

Swarovski, a crystal dreaming company, has enriched the lives of countless people for hundreds of years.

Today, this ancient and mysterious company still maintains a family business approach, passing the crystal making process as a trade secret from generation to generation.

Take patents and wealth related to crystal cutting.

The town of Wattens, which is more than a dozen miles east of Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol in western Austria, is located in the remote alpine foothills and has a population of only a few thousand people. Thousands of visitors flocked to see the strangely shaped Alpine giant. The giant was kneeling on a hill. Two big crystal eyes sparkled with a strange brilliance under the sun's rays. The fountain rushing out of its mouth fell into the front of the lake and made a loud roar.

This giant is the Swarovski Crystal World built by Swarovski, a crystal brand, built on a mountain in 1995. From the giant's mouth, visitors immediately saw their eyes open. In the 20,000-square-foot visitor center, there are seven underground exhibition halls with different themes. The crystal work created by the master's hands is brilliance, but visitors often marvel at the world's largest crystal weighing 135 pounds, or linger in the crystal walls made of 12 tons of colored crystals. . However, when curious tourists proposed to visit the crystal factory not far away, they would be politely refused by the staff. They will tell you that the Swarovski crystal making process is confidential and not open to outsiders. Indeed, despite Swarovski’s generosity in showing the world’s most eye-catching crystal products, behind this brand is a crystal secret that has been carefully preserved for over a hundred years.

Century Vision

The town of Vatens is the only two Swarovski crystal factories in the world. Just like Coca-Cola is guarding formula “X”, Swarovski still maintains the family business mode. It has passed the crystal craftsmanship as a trade secret from generation to generation. To date, they still monopolize many patents related to crystal cutting.

All this must be attributed to Swarovski's founder Daniel Swarovski's awareness of intellectual property protection beyond the times. Daniel was born in 1862 in a small village in the Bohemian Hills (now in the Czech Republic) where it has always been a traditional crystal glass processing area, but it is basically handmade. As a successor to a crystal-cutting workshop, Daniel learned his precious stones from his childhood and used them to decorate brooches, hairpins, hair combs and other accessories. At the age of 21, Daniel went to Vienna to visit the first electrical fair held there. The technology revolution of Siemens and Edison inspired Daniel and he was determined to invent an automatic crystal cutting machine. Nine years later, after day and night of immersive experiments, his first automatic cutting machine that perfectly cuts crystals came out. Its products can be very skillfully polished into dozens of sections, with excellent refracting power to the light, making the entire crystal look dazzling.

In order to ensure that his invention of technology and machinery are not stolen by his colleagues, Daniel applied for a patent on the one hand, and on the other hand did not hesitate to leave home to Austria's Vatens. Located in the hinterland of the Alps, the Inhe River that flows through brings in a wealth of hydraulic resources that can power the crystal cutting machine. And compared to Bohemia, Vatens was closer to Paris, the largest crystal consumption and fashion capital of the time. In 1895, Daniel formally established Swarovski with two partners, Franz Weiss and Armand Cosman.

Lucky town

The early development of Swarovski, which was the first half of the 20th century, coincided with an era of frequent wars and economic turmoil, but Daniel has always been good at finding new ways in adversity, and the unnamed town Wattens has also become Daniel. The turbulent land where the business took off not only helped Swarovski's crystal products open up the market, but also inspired endless innovations.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Daniel's three sons William, Friedrich and Alfred began to participate in his father's manufacturing operations. Daniel began trial production of artificial crystals in 1908. They built a special laboratory next to the villas in Wattens and spent three years designing melting pots. In 1913, Swarovski began mass production of its own flawless man-made crystal stones. These crystal and gemstone products were quickly sought after by the market. With the outbreak of World War I, Swarovski fell into a dilemma of lack of mechanical equipment and raw materials. After two years of development, Daniel launched an automatic grinding machine in 1917 to process crystal products. Daniel gave it in 1919. The machine is registered with a patent. In the 1920s, European and American fashion began to popularize skirts decorated with pearls and crystals. Seeing the emerging market demand, Daniel invented in 1931 a kind of stone belt popular with the fashion industry. It is covered with beautiful broken crystals and can be sewn directly to clothes or shoes. Swarovski's crystals have become hot sellers, and it has become a source of luxury among Chanel, GUCCI, Dior and other top fashion brands as well as film companies and Hollywood stars.

Since then, the company's product line has continuously extended to every corner that can be decorated with crystals. Today visitors just take a turn in Wattens' Swarovski Crystal Worlds to see how close the products are to people's lives. In addition to the crystal decoration on fashion, shoes, hats, watches, and jewellery from Swarovski, the brand of the telescope is likely to be “Swarovski Optik” when the customer goes into a store selling outdoor sports goods to buy a telescope for hunting and bird watching. It originated from the creation of William the eldest son William in 1935. The New York Metropolitan Theater, the Palace of Versailles in Paris, and even the crystal chandeliers of the Great Hall of the People are the STRASS produced by Swarovski.

In 1976, Vatens achieved another leap forward in Swarovski's history. The Winter Olympic Games was held in Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol, and Swarovski's designer Max Schreck accidentally used a piece of crystal lighting to make a crystal mouse. It is the first crystal finished product that was brought to the market in the history of the company and immediately became a best-selling souvenir for the Winter Olympics. Inspired by this, Swarovski succeeded in pursuing a series of “silver crystal” ornaments with the theme of small animals, flowers and grass. In 1987, the company established the "Swarovski Collector's Club". To date, the collection club has had 450,000 members in more than 30 countries around the world. The "Silver Crystal" series has become a symbol of Swarovski.

It is no wonder that when Marco Swarth, the fifth generation descendant of Swarovski, was asked during the visit in China whether he would use the advantages of China’s labor force to build a factory in China like many major companies in the world, Marcos smiled: “One hundred Over the years, Wattens's soil and water have made the Swarovski brand a success. We will only continue to write this myth in Vatens's land." Vatons also became obscure because of the rise of Swarovski. The town developed into one of the most famous industrial areas in Austria. One-third of the residents of the town are employees of the company, while more than 80% of the remaining people are engaged in tourism, catering and service industries related to Swarovski.

Family dispute

Daniel Swarovski died in 1956 at the age of 94. He left an extremely large family behind him. Currently, the Swarovski family has more than 150 members, of whom 28 are engaged in senior management within the company and 6 are the company’s top decision makers and management.

In 2002, the company has fully completed the transfer of power between the fourth and fifth-generation members. However, these fresh forces have generated disagreements both in terms of geographical distribution and management philosophy. Some of them are American and some are Austrian. At present, the company's administrative management work is focused on the members of the three fifth-generation family members: Cohen (39), head of Swarovski's North America branch; Nadja (35), director of the International Exchange Department Markus, 31, head of brand management. Although they have a close blood relationship, they are more suited to each other's competitors. Their disagreement focuses on how to reposition Swarovski's brand - is it a luxury product that is made of crystal products, or an ordinary handicraft that is acceptable to the general public?

Na Jia, who once studied in the United States and was responsible for sales and distribution work in Hong Kong after graduation, advocates the former. She found that the Swarovski brand has a very different meaning in the European and American markets: in Europe and Asia, Swarovski crystals are regarded as elegant gifts; in the United States, people buy in batches are animal-shaped crystal ornaments. When people hear Najia's surname, the most typical response is: "Swarovski, are you talking about animals?" This caused Najia to be frustrated: "I admire animal-shaped crystals, but I don't want to equate them. ”

Najia started to reposition and enhance Swarovski's brand image. Her first act was to open the first Swarovski Creative Service Center in New York in 1998. As a crystal product exhibition hall, she hired a fashion consultant to Instruct the Vatengs crystal cutting artisans. That year, Swarovski's North American sales jumped from $1.4 million to $13 million. Since 1999, six centres have opened in London, Dubai, Paris, Milan, New Delhi and Sao Paulo. She collaborated with European fashion designers to launch a $3,000 crystal necklace or a handbag lined with broken crystals to cater to the luxury market. New products have become fashionable in fashion capitals such as Milan and New York.

However, this attempt was questioned by other members of the family. Najia's cousin, Cohen, thought: "Luxury is very important, but it is the daily crafts that really bring profits to the company. We plan to reposition the brand in this direction." He represents the views of the older members of the family. Standing on the same line with him is the highly respected Gernot and Gernot's son Marcus. In 1986, Gernot had advocated the acquisition of a high-end jewelry store called Zale, in which he hoped to sell crystal products. As a result, he lost a billion dollars and ended up bankrupt. Gernot has always kept this lesson in mind. It is said that Marcos and Najia have developed to the point where they do not talk to each other. Najia complained privately: "I've worked hard for the company, but I always feel like an outsider."

In the current situation, setting up specialty stores and counters in department stores is still the main marketing channel for Swarovski crystals, and it is not good news for Najia. The display window is still full of animal furnishings. As the family grows, disagreements among family members are almost inevitable for each family business. 11 years ago, Swarovski chose the swan as a mark of the company, because in the myths of Greece, Rome, India and Germany, the swan symbolizes purity, power and sanctity. But for this family business with an annual turnover of US$2 billion to really soar freely in the sky of the North as a swan, the fifth-generation family members must be able to obtain more guarantees between the continuation and development of the brand and the persistence of bold innovation. Good balance.

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The history of crystal

In 1892, 29-year-old Daniel Swarovski invented the first cutting machine, which greatly improved the speed, accuracy and quality of crystal cutting.

In 1913, Daniel Swarovski and his three sons Wilhelm, Friedrich and Alfred set up a crystal-making factory to produce pure and original crystal materials. The success of Swarovski today also depends on its stringent quality requirements.

In 1931, Swarovski registered its stone belt products, which included a variety of ribbons and laces with crystal stones, which can be used for clothing and accessories.

In 1948, Swarovski established the Department of Optical Instruments and launched the precise optical instruments including the monoscope and sights under the name of HABICHT, and quickly became a major supplier in the international market.

In 1956, Swarovski used a unique vacuum coating to create a “jewelry” crystal jewelry.

In 1960, Swarovski established its first sales office in Germany. Today, Swarovski has set up 40 sales offices around the world to distribute its products worldwide.

In 1965, Swarovski launched the glittering STRASS crystal chandelier pendant. The crystal lamps at the New York's Metropolitan Opera House and the Palace of Versailles in Paris all feature Swarovski crystal chandelier pendants.

In 1976, Swarovski's success story began with a crystal cute little mouse. Since then, other vivid animal statues have come one after another. At present, this series already has more than 120 gifts and collections.

In 1977, Swarovski launched the first jewelry collection (Swarovski Jewellery Collection). Today, the products include the highest quality fashion creations and classic crystal jewelry designs. Two new products are introduced each year.

In 1987, the Swarovski Collectors Association was established to provide crystal enthusiasts with exclusive services and exchanges. At present, the number of members has exceeded 430,000 and will receive 4 issues of Swarovski Magazine each year.

In 1991, the exhibition "Jewels of Fantasy - 20th Century Costume Jewellery" was held and sponsored by Swarovski. So far, this exhibition has been exhibited in more than 20 venues.

In 1995, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Swarovski, the Swarovski Crystal World in Vatens was unveiled in October. This underground museum is a green giant with an area of ​​more than 2,000 square meters. Strange crystal world. To date, more than 4.5 million people have come to feel the charm of crystal.

In 2001, Swarovski provided a new design concept for bathroom fittings. The products include flashing crystal components that can be matched with each other. The colorful "Crystal Bathroom Full Touch" inspired by the sparkling light of Swarovski crystals is a perfect portrayal of purity and harmony.