An Exclusive Retail Design from Swarovski: The ‘Crystal Forest’

 AN EXCLUSIVE RETAIL DESIGN: The ‘Crystal Forest’

Swarovski's Blue and Red retail architecture is finally being replaced in more than 1,700 Swarovski boutiques in all major fashion capitals around the world. Swarovski has created a fresh showcase to highlight its own branded collections of crystal jewelery, fashion accessories, and home decor objects.

As Robert Buchbauer, member of the Swarovski family and the Executive Board, comments: "Swarovski is committed to presenting the sparkling world of crystal to our consumers in a way that exceeds their expectations.”


Swarovski’s “Crystal Forest”, designed in collaboration with Tokujin Yoshioka, the 2007 Design Miami - Designer of the Year award winner, who gave the creative inspiration for the new retail architecture.

Outside the boutique, the concept interprets the ‘Crystal Forest’ using a myriad of stainless steel prisms.

Inside the boutique, the ‘Crystal Forest’ has walls textured featuring reflective white prisms to create the illusion of an organic crystal forest.  Signature elements include an impressive Crystal Swan behind the cash register and Crystal Strand panels at the entrance.  An exclusive lacquer developed for Swarovski adds a glowing sparkle to furniture, with the mirror finish in stainless steel. Completing these striking elements, a modern beehive-shaped Chrysalis chandelier hangs from the ceiling.

The 'Crystal Forest' design concept made its global debut in Tokyo in March 2008 and in November 2009, opened in the United States on the Magnificent Mile of Chicago. 

Lighting is a key feature of the new architecture. The ambient lighting creates a soft atmosphere within the boutique. In a captivating play of light and shade, the gleam from the LED illumination in the showcases hits figurines and jewelery from multiple angles.

'Crystal Forest’ is a multi-sensory experience which gives visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the seductive brilliance and infinite depth of crystal. "Swarovski boutiques are unique magical places and the new retail architecture will ultimately make the brand a tangible crystal experience focused on pleasing the senses", concludes Robert Buchbauer.


LEARN ALL ABOUT SWAROVSKI !
COME JOIN the Crystal Fanatics at the CRYSTAL FANATICS CLUB
The 'Official' Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal


© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

Swarovski and the Famous Maker Perfume Bottles

Famous Maker Swarovski Perfume Bottles 



Aura, Issued in collaboration with Clarins Fragrance Group
Perfume created by perfumers, Jean-Pierre Bethouart and Olivier Cresp. Bottle for the fragrance was designed by Gwenaël Nicolas.  Issued: January 2011

- Lancome Special Editions ~ 3 special edition Lancome Tresor Perfume Bottles were issued from 1994 to 1997; all three editions look pretty much the same, fashioned after Lancome's Tresor perfume bottles, but made, of course, with Swarovski Crystal, in special packaging. These were limited, numbered editions ranging at issue price from $250.00 (1994) to $325.00 (1997).  All are now closed editions.

- Yves St Laurant, introduced and closed in 1996, Ltd ed. of 6,233, in special packaging. Swarovski and the number are etched on an aerosol bottle, retailing for $325.  Again, yet another issue was introduced and closed in 1998, a flacon that had design problems. Issue price was $350.00. 

- Jewel Perfume, introduced in 1997, a limited edition of 10,000, issued by Designer Perfum Ltd.
Numbered and packaged in a blue velvet box, & sold in the U.S. only.  A Diamond-shaped crystal flacon with a 24K gold-plated stand, now retired.

- Laura Biagiotti Roma Perfume, sold only in Europe as a limited edition with very limited distribution due to production problems. Introduced and closed in 1997, current value is $850.00, if you can find one!

- LaPrairie BRILLIANCE Silver RAIN Perfume Bottle, Ltd Ed. of 1,000
Bottle designed with 3,000 Swarovski Crystals

- Madam Gres Perfume, two different issues, one in pink and one in green, Limited to 5000 pieces.
Issued & Retired in 2003.

- Thierry Mugler 15th Anniversary Angel Perfume, designed by Cecile Henri.
Swarovski joined forces with Thierry Mugler to mark the 15th anniversary of his Angel perfume. A crystallized 400 ml flacon was presented in all its glittering glory at the Luxe Pack Fair in Monaco in October 2006.

More Swarovski-designed perfume bottles, including those listed here, can be seen in our FABULOUS CFC Photo Galleries.

At CrystalFanaticsClub.com, you will find Photos of ALL the Swarovski Issues in our FABULOUS Photo Galleries, featuring Photos in Full Color, the Swarovski Product Name, Product Number, Designer, Current Value, Year of Issue and Retirement (if applicable) for every issue.
No More Need for outdated Collector Books.

Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
Crystal Fanatics Club
The Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal !

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

Swarovski Lovlots 'Gang of Dogs'

The very successful, Swarovski Lovlots, introduced the 'Gang of Dogs' in 2008 with colorful portrayals of some of our favorite doggies.

Peppino - a Basset Hound, designed by Edith Mair, Product #9100 000 108 / 935 720, in fully faceted Light Smoked Topaz crystal with a Snout in faceted clear crystal, and Jet Crystal Eyes .
A Limited number of signed pieces were available at Swarovski online under a different product number: 1070449 -  

Issued: 2008 / Still Currently Available.

Different boxes issued with Peppino

Salvatore - Great Dane  Designer: Edith Mair
Great Dane in fully faceted Jet crystal with Indicolite crystal collar and eyes in Jet crystal.
Issued: 2008 / Retires 2011 

Tomasino - Bulldog  Designer: Stefanie Nederegger
Jet Nut Crystal with a snout in Smokey Quartz colored crystal.
Issued: 2008 / Retires 2011

Tomaso - Large Bulldog  Designer: Stefanie Nederegger
Tomasino's older brother. Crystal Satin with Smoky Quartz snout.
Issued: 2008 / Retired 2010

Violetta Poodle - Limited Edition  Designer: Stefanie Nederegger
Faceted Violet Crystal with neck and tail in clear crystal; Jet Crystal eyes. Only Available in 2008.

Newest Editions This Year :

Scottie , retailing at $110, Scottie sparkles in Erinite crystal with Platinum White eyebrows and a Bordeaux crystal collar.
Coco is Peppino’s little brother. Sparkling in Lavender crystal with an Air Blue Opal crystal tail and ears, retails for $60.

At CrystalFanaticsClub.com, you will find Photos of ALL the Swarovski Issues in our FABULOUS Photo Galleries, featuring Photos in Full Color, the Swarovski Product Name, Product Number, Designer, Current Value, Year of Issue and Retirement (if applicable) for every issue.
No More Need for outdated Collector Books.

Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
Crystal Fanatics Club
The Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal !

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

The Swarovski Trimlite Frosty Friends

The Trimlite Frosty Friends have a much different look than most Trimlite pieceswe have written about in the past. Unlike most of the Trimlite product line, the 'Frosty Friends' have no gold-tone trim surrounded by crystals, but were produced using a single crystal component.

The top half is frosted crystal and the bottom half is molded in faceted crystal.

There are five critters that make up the Frosty Friends theme group, and each of them measure 1” to 1.5” in height.

Frosty Friends Chick – 52603, (shown) a frosted bird, hatching from a clear faceted egg.
Duck– 52601, a frosted duck atop a clear faceted base.
Fish – 52602 a frosted fish atop a clear faceted base.
Owl – 52605. The owl is the only figurine to have colored, faceted eyes; the others have tiny black eyes.
Sparrow – 52604 - a frosted bird atop a clear faceted base.

All the Swarovski Frosty Friends were introduced in 1985, retailed for $20 each, and retired in 1988. None of them appear to have a Swarovski logo.

You can SEE PHOTOS of all these issues in our FABULOUS CFC PHOTO GALLERY!

Want to Learn More About your Swarovski Collection?
Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
http://www.CrystalFanaticsClub.com

The 'Official' Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal !

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

The Swarovski Chess Sets

The Swarovski Chess Sets are some of the more unique items issued by Swarovski. 

The original set, the Swarovski Wooden Chess Set, was introduced in 1984 and retired in 1986. The Chess board is distinguished by a pale brown color tinted with yellow and chocolate brown squares on the playing board, surrounded by a wood frame. Convenient storage of the actual chess pieces is provided inside the board with a lock and key to secure them. It was only available in the USA and Canada.

In 1984, the Swarovski Glass Chess Set was introduced.  The glass board is a mirror with a frosted border and frosted squares to create the checkerboard pattern for the playing board. Some of the cases allow the board and chess pieces to be stored in either a single case or separately. The Swarovski logo is displayed on the outside of the Gray leatherette storage case. It retired in 2007.

Chess pieces included: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, 2 Rooks, and 8 Pawns for each player with half the figurines in clear crystal and the other half in black crystal. 

 

Both were issued with the same product number. 

 

Chess pieces were also available separately; this was convenient for collectors who may have lost or damaged chess pieces, making it possible to replace them at a much lower cost than purchasing the entire chess set.  The Glass Chess Board and the Glass Chess Case were also sold separately.

The Chess sets were produced during the period when the official Swarovski logo changed, so the chess pieces can be found issued with both the old SC Block and Swan logos. The logos are not on the pieces, but instead a sticker was used, found on the underside of the chess pieces.

At CrystalFanaticsClub.com, you will find Photos of ALL the Swarovski Issues in our FABULOUS CFC Photo Galleries, featuring Photos in Full Color, the Swarovski Product Name, Product Number, Designer, Current Value, Year of Issue and Retirement (if applicable) for every issue.
No More Need for outdated Collector Books.

Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
Crystal Fanatics Club
The Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal !

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

All About The Swarovski Lovlots 'House of Cats'

The Swarovski 'House of Cats' from the Lovlots Collection reside in the posh Park Hills district. They include:

• Swarovski Camille  - A Fully faceted sleeping copper crystal cat with a Jet crystal nose, designed by Stefanie Nederegger.  Retires in 2011
• Diane – Diane is the big sister to Ines. She has a Golden Shadow faceted body; ears and tail in Smoky Quartz with Aquamarine crystal eyes & black print pupil, & a Jet crystal nose. She wears a Light Cream-rose Pearl necklace, designed by Edith Mair. Retires in 2011.
  
• Emily – Faceted Fuchsia cat with silver-tone metal butterfly on ear. Eyes in Chalk White crystal with black printed pupil and Jet crystal nose, designed by Peter Heidegger.
• Ines –  Faceted body in Shadow crystal, ears and tail in Morion crystal. Aquamarine crystal eyes with black printed pupil, wearing a Dark Grey Pearl necklace, designed by Edith Mair.
• Marie and Pierre –  Marie is in fully faceted Kakadu Red Satin crystal with a small heart in Chalk White crystal. Pierre is in fully faceted Indian Sapphire crystal, eyes in Chalk White crystal with black printed pupil and Jet crystal nose, designed by Edith Mair. They retire in 2011.
  
• Theo - 2009 Limited Edition is a black cat, posed in a Halloween position with a Jet Nut faceted body, unfaceted tail, Chalk White crystal eyes with black printed pupil, and Jet crystal nose, designed by Edith Mair. Theo retired in 2009.

At CrystalFanaticsClub.com, you will find Photos of ALL the Swarovski Issues in our FABULOUS Photo Galleries, featuring Photos in Full Color, the Swarovski Product Name, Product Number, Designer, Current Value, Year of Issue and Retirement (if applicable) for every issue.
No More Need for outdated Collector Books.

Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
Crystal Fanatics Club
The Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal 

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

--

The Swarovski FalconHeads

The Swarovski Falcon heads are among some of the favorite issues of our Crystal Fanatics, and can be very difficult to find.


Photo Compliments of one of our Very Own 'Crystal Fanatics'
© Copyright Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.

The Silver Crystal Falcons
The Large Falcon Head - Versions 1 and 2, designed by Max Schreck, were issued in the Silver Crystal product line in 1984 and retired in 1991. Measuring 4 inches / 102mm high, Version 1 has a base that forms a V with one narrow facet, approximately 5/8" under the beak, and a wider facet on each side. This version bears the Old SC Block logo. Both versions Weigh in at 2 lbs 9 oz.
Version 2 has a very flat chest under the beak and looks like the small falcon head. There is a single wide facet, approx 2-1/2 inches, under the beak. Version 2 can be found with either the old SC block logo or the Swan logo.
Version 1 is valued at more than $1800.00 while Version 2 has a value in excess of $1600.00.

The Small Falcon Head also has 2 versions, also designed by Max Schreck in the Silver Crystal range, measuring 1-3/4 inches / 45mm high

The difference in the variations is the width of the cut of the facet at the bottom of the piece. Version 1 has a narrow facet on the base under the beak. Version 2 has a wide facet under the beak at the base area.  This version can be found with either the old SC block logo or the Swan logo. It was issued in 1986 and retired in 1991.

The Optik Falcons
Optik is a division of Swarovski, specializing in Binoculars, Telelscopes, & Rifle scopes, founded by Wilhelm Swarovski in 1949, son of the original founder.

The small Optik Falcon Head  is 1 3/4 inches 45mm High & made for the Swarovski Optik retailers in Europe to celebrate 50 years of manufacturing. It Retired in 1999.

The Optic Falcon Head Set, again was produced for Swarovski Optik dealers in Europe to celebrate 50 years of manufacturing.
The Optic Hawk Logo can be found on the Large size and the Swan logo on the smaller size.
The Large Falcon measures 4 inches, while the smaller issue is 2 3/4 inches high.
They were issued & Retired in 1999 and are valued at more than $1900.00

The Optik Falconhead, Large was also issued separately for Swarovski Optik retailers in Europe to celebrate 50 years of manufacturing.
It measures 4 inches 102mm High & Weighs 2 lb. 9 oz.
It has an etched Optik logo and also Retired in 1999.

At CrystalFanaticsClub.com, you will find Photos of ALL the Swarovski Issues in our FABULOUS Photo Galleries, featuring Photos in Full Color, the Swarovski Product Name, Product Number, Designer, Current Value, Year of Issue and Retirement (if applicable) for every issue.
No More Need for outdated Collector Books.

Come JOIN The Crystal Fanatics
Crystal Fanatics Club
The Premier website For Collectors of Swarovski Crystal !

© Copyright 1999-2011. Crystal Fanatics Club, Inc.