Why everyone loves Swarovski Crystals
How did Swarovski Crystals go from figures that your nanna had on the mantle to in-demand jewellery and fashion brand? Today, we’re exploring the history of this fascinating brand and sharing why we only use genuine Swarovski Crystals in our cufflinks.
How the brand began
Bohemian glassmaker Daniel Swarovski wanted to make a ‘diamond for everyone.’ In the 1880s, he invented a crystal cutting machine that produced highly accurate cuts, with unparalleled sparkle and shimmer. Soon, the Swarovski brand was supplying jewels to the aristocrats of Europe, including Queen Victoria. The brand grew in popularity in the 1920s. The flapper trend of short haircuts embellished with clips saw a surge in sales. In the 1950s, the brand worked with fashion designers like Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. The leading designers featured crystal-embedded clothing and stunning designer gowns.
Why we use Swarovski Crystals
Quality: they’re famous for a reason—the crystals are the highest quality. They have the best consistency of colour, with near-identical sizes and cuts. That’s important to us because each cufflink comes in a pair. So, you want your cufflinks matching perfectly in size, shape and colour.
Sustainability: the company is committed to sustainable practices. It uses renewable energy, recycled water and lead is not used in the production of crystals.
Ethical: Swarovski supports women’s empowerment, sustainable innovation, fair partnerships and corporate responsibility.
Brand values: Swarovski is synonymous with value, prestige, luxury and brilliance. This makes it a perfect partner for its shared values with Miss Links.
Did you know?
Technically, Swarovski is not a crystal. It is not a gem either. Instead, it’s a type of man-made glass with a unique coating to give it the diamond-like sparkle that makes it famous. Swarovski has a higher refraction rate than true crystal, which makes it sparklier. Each crystal has hundreds of identical facets in several directions.
There are hundreds of different shapes, colours and cuts of crystals. These include round stones, flat backs, hotfix, beads and pearls.
Who knew Swarovksi makes pearls too?
We use Swarovski pearls in our cufflinks, because they are perfect pearl replicas made of a crystal core with smooth coating. The consistency of colour and appearance makes them perfect for matching pairs of cufflinks.
Swarovski figurines – bling for your mantlepiece
The first Swarovski figurine was a mouse. The mice were gifts to the athletes at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics. The figurines were so popular that the company began manufacturing them for sale. Now the range includes animals, flowers, baby gifts, Christmas decorations and Disney characters. There’s even Star Wars characters.
You’ve seen Swarovksi before
- Audrey Hepburn wore the crystals in her tiara for her famous scene at Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961.
- Elizabeth Taylor wore the crystals in Cleopatra in 1963.
- Marilyn Monroe wore a gown featuring Swarovski when she famously sang ‘happy birthday’ to president JFK in 1962.
- Many of the famous Victoria’s Secret ‘fantasy bras’ feature Swarovski crystals. Elsa Hosk wore the 2018 bra, with more than one million dollars’ worth of crystals.
- The 2019 film Rocketman features many of Elton John’s famous outfits recreated with Swarovski crystals. The Dodgers costume alone features 140,000 stones.
Are you a fan too?
Check out our range of cufflinks featuring Swarovski crystals. There’s solitaires, emerald cut solitaires, flowers, barbells and bows. As for pearls, check out the sweet daisy, the pearl trio or the modern oyster, bloom or pearl pod.