Swarovski chose an Alpine village for its cheap hydroelectric power
Grinding glass into sparkling crystals by machine devours energy. So when Daniel Swarovski, a Bohemian glass cutter's son, set up his company in 1895, he built the factory in Wattens in the Austrian Tyrol, where local hydroelectricity could drive his patented cutting machines. His goal was to offer a diamond for everyone.
Swarovski learned glass cutting in his father's small factory in northern Bohemia, in a village now in the Czech Republic. In 1892 he and Armand Kosmann patented an electric cutting machine, and three years later they and Franz Weis founded the firm, first called A. Kosmann, D. Swarovski and Co. Its machines allowed crystals to be mass-produced for the first time, transforming the jewellery trade. An edelweiss flower became the logo in 1899, later replaced by a swan in 1988.
The business spread well beyond jewellery. In 1919 the grinding and polishing tools from the crystal works spun off as Tyrolit, a maker of abrasive and cutting tools. A custom pair of binoculars made by Daniel's son Wilhelm in 1935 led, 14 years later, to Swarovski Optik, which builds binoculars, telescopes and rifle scopes. The crystal itself is melted from quartz sand, soda, potash and other ingredients, and since 2012 has been made entirely without lead. Metallic coatings such as Aurora Borealis give some pieces their rainbow shimmer.
The family's past is darker. At least six members joined the illegal Nazi party before Austria's annexation in March 1938, and a torchlight march in Wattens weeks earlier drew mostly Swarovski workers, including family heirs. The company grew during the war from 500 to almost 1,200 employees, while records indicate co-founder Kosmann, who was Jewish, was deported. A history the company commissioned in 2018 has not been published.
Fifth-generation family members still own the group. Its crystal division ran about 3,000 stores in roughly 170 countries in 2018, and in October 2021 Michele Molon became the first chief executive from outside the family.
Source: Swarovski
