DANIEL SWAROVSKI: A World of Beauty

Creator of a global beauty brand, Daniel Swarovski was inspired by the Bohemian glass industry in Czechoslovakia, cutting lead crystal by hand as a teenager in his father's workshop. When he moved to the Austrian Tyrol in 1895 to set up his own factory, he focused on the invention of machines for cutting and polishing crystal, creating a new dimension of luxury and glamour that is handsomely replicated in the stunning close-up photography in this sophisticated and luxurious tribute to the Swarovski empire. Inspred by the Weiner Werkstatte geometric, stylised organic designs, Swarovski took his new machine to Paris, where he and later his sons worked closely with designers and their ateliers, adding opulence to the jazz age in collaboration with design houses like Chanel and Schiaparelli. Precision cutting joined with aesthetic extravagance was the unique selling point. The pieces photographed for this book were all conceived and executed in the late 1980s, when minimalism ruled the fashion world when creative director Rosemarie Le Gallais realised that minimal couture can be the perfect background for luxurious jewellery. Women were travelling extensively and needed a pared down wardrobe enlivened by statement accessories. The Kristina bag is made with 10,000 crystal pearls on mesh, while the "tribal attraction" collection for the Millennium featured brightly coloured crystal glass cabochons on leather. The iconic Nirvana ring of 1996 is a solid beautifully faceted crystal, the Metamorphose bag of 1994 features an encrustation of crystal flakes on black satin, and the Ophelia bag is an enfilage of jet-black and navy blue crystal pearls. Sculptural, heavily encrusted uneven mosaic work on handbags and accessories used a richly encrusted crystal pave effect. The Number One wristwatch, a miracle of restrained aesthetic perfection, features white gold and crystalline ingots in cubic zirconium for the wristband, aligning with the severity of a plain watch face with Swiss quartz movement. On the opposite page, a square giant crystal ring cut into multiple tiny facets dazzles the viewer. A beautiful concept book celebrating the poetry of crystal, artistically produced on thick glossy paper. 26 x 33.5cm, 144pp, spectacular colour art photography and creative designs in colour.