In 1895, Daniel Swarovski revolutionized the fashion and jewelry industries with his captivating precision-cut crystals.

An inventor, an engineer, but most of all a visionary, Daniel Swarovski became enthralled by electricity and its immense possibilities. Creating and patenting the first electricity-powered cutting machine in 1892, at a time when crystals were all cut by hand, he and his partners, Franz Weis, and Armand Kosmann, sought a suitable location for their burgeoning business based outside of
Bohemia.

Wattens, a picturesque village in the Austrian Alps offered many advantages – distance from imitators, a transport link to the fashion capital of Paris, and above all an abundance of water to generate the hydroelectricity needed to power his innovation.

The future was set in motion, and the Swarovski Empire was created. Daniel Swarovski’s enduring passion for innovation and design has made Swarovski the world’s premier jewelry and accessory brand, and today the family continues to carry on the tradition of delivering extraordinary brilliant style to people around the globe.