Swarovski

Daniel Swarovski patented a machine for cutting crystal precisely and in volume, and in 1895 moved production to Wattens in the Tyrol for the hydroelectric power the valley could supply. The company has been there ever since, still family-controlled after five generations.

The watches are not a licence. Swarovski makes them itself, and they exist to display the thing the company actually produces: cut crystal, set into cases, bezels, bracelets and dials in quantities no watchmaker would attempt.

That makes them jewellery with a movement inside rather than watches with decoration added, and they are best judged on that basis. Quartz movements, generous stone-setting, and designs that change with the season.

Swarovski also supplies crystal to fashion, film and stage — which is why the same stones turn up on a Wattens-made watch and on a costume at the Metropolitan Opera.

Swarovski holds 12 models, from £189 to £278. Half cost less than £231, and a quarter less than £217. Prices are checked nightly against the retailers’ own feeds.

1895

Daniel Swarovski founds the company in Wattens.

1956

Aurora Borealis coating developed with Christian Dior.

1976

Crystal figurines begin the collectables business.

1989

The first Swarovski watches appear.

2010

Watchmaking expands into a full seasonal collection.