Swarovski Article

That was an interesting piece, as were the sidebars. I bought some Preciosa crystal briolettes to sell about 18 months ago and had a lot of problems selling them because they weren't Swarovski. To my (untrained) eye, they were every bit as sparkly as their Austrian cousins and cost about 25% less to boot. In the end I sold my stock at a discount and won't buy any more of them.

Mj

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Tinkster :

]

"expansion of retail is on again: eight more Swarovski stores in North America by year's end, on top of the 53 opened in the past seven years. (It has 225 stores worldwide.) Though Nadja grants a need for traffic, her own taste runs more to the high-ticket finery in the earth-toned Daniel Swarovski boutiques, one in London and one in Paris."

my son's girlfriend took me to the store in Sacramento's Arden Mall. prices were mind-blowing, to say the least. i decided the prices on my bracelets were probably too low.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

Well, I think the article leaves out a few points that may make the situation a bit fuzzy.

Basically, Swarovski is a family name. One they have spent a whole lot of years making sure stands behind their quality product.

If Dora Dumb@ss goes into her LBS and buys some beads that the store owner has marked as Swarovski crystal (which happens all the time), goes home and strings up a necklace, offers it for sale on eBay, and Bobby Blindfolded buys it only to find crappy beads on it, she could easily turn around and tell everyone she knows that Swarovski crystal is crap.

Were it my family name behind the product that I had worked so hard to have be at the top of the pile, I would be pretty ticked about just anyone using it also.

I have been authorized through Swarovski to use the name. I have been educated to know which products are theirs and which are not. I have signed an agreement that I will only offer Swarovski product under the Swarovski name. I cannot at any time use their logo. A representative from Swarovski comes in to check up on me and make sure that I am not misrepresenting their family name. Should I do so, I will lose my right to use the name.

The comment: "the Swarovskis never attached their name to a product, so a rhinestone dress was sold simply under the designer's brand name."

is true. The Swarovski company did not make the dress, they merely supplied one of the products that the designer used to create it. The designer does not use the name of the company that made the zipper on the dress...why should they be allowed to use the name of the company that supplied the crystal? If they are only using a Swarovski product to produce an item, they can work to get authorized to do so.

If you say Austrian Crystal, it is already implied who made them. This may also help to educate people who might not be as knowledgeable. Austrian Crystal, Chinese Crystal, Czech Crystal, Egyptian Crystal....if they are all separated this way, like Czech Seedbeads and Japanese Seedbeads, the populace will understand what they are using better.

And lets not get me started on my peeve about Firepolish being called crystal....=o\

Beki

Holy Crap!, 200 million crystals a day

Tink:

LOVED the articles. Politics just seems to permeate all of society. Such a "brilliant" product though. I'm always tempted to wear my special glasses when I'm packaging these beauties :-).

Michelle

Actually, I contacted Swarovski a while back asking to use the swan logo on the website I'm setting up for a friends bead shop. I was told they need to be able to review the finished piece. I explained there was no "finished piece", she sells the crystals. Can't be done. As a matter of fact, you need permission from them to use their name. How many sites that sell them have actually been granted permission by Swarovski to use their name? And with proper identification as a registered name?

One thing - the swan is not the logo for their crystal components (bead) division, the logo for the crystal component products is a stylized bicone.

Letrinka

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Letrinka) :

]One thing - the swan is not the logo for their crystal components (bead) ]division, the logo for the crystal component products is a stylized bicone.

i can't even FIND crystals on their site!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

The Swan logo is not their logo for their components. That logo, now, would be a bicone.

Yes you do. Which was what I mentioned in my post. You must be authorized by them to use their name. Including signing a contract.

Beki

Will I EVER learn to read ahead? LOL..probably not. ;o)

Beki

Your not meant to Vicki. Swarovski has authorized distributors and resellers for their beads.

Beki

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (DreamBeadr) :

]Swarovski has authorized distributors and resellers for their beads.

well, what i was really looking for were "names, numbers, and charts".

i have one, from the link list, but . . .

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

Identifying an article only by it's place of manufacture is ridiculous. "Made in USA", for example, doesn't mean much of anything, though "Union Made" means more. USA products can be either good stuff and crap just like anywhere else.

Tina

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Christina Peterson" :

]Identifying an article only by it's place of manufacture is ridiculous. ]"Made in USA", for example, doesn't mean much of anything, though "Union ]Made" means more. USA products can be either good stuff and crap just like ]anywhere else.

exactly. is there any way of guaranteeing there is NO OTHER crystal maker in all of Austria?

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

I'm sure there are. Our local Ben Franklin was buying Swarovskis, now I see they are buying crystals that come in bulk packages marked Made in Czech Republic (or something to that effect). They are ess expensive. The bad thing is they use the same color name as Swarovskis. When I see Olivine, I

*assume* Swarovski, not Brand X. Even tho I get a discount in there, I've purchased what will probably be my last crystals from there.

And also, if I can buy it as a Swarovski component/crystal bead, how could I be asked to mis-identify it by calling it something different. Does it really say I can't identify components accurately, or does it say I can't claim that "Swarovski" describes my product in anyway. It's not as if I made crystal things. I just have a few in my work.

Tina

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:38:42 -0500, vj wrote (in message ):

Chuckle. Have you ever BEEN to Austria?

If the Austrians decided that only one crystal maker would be allowed in their country, and that crystal maker would be Swarovski, it would be done.

Just like that.

Austria is amazing, but totally stifling. I've never been in a more rule oriented place, and I attended a parochial school run by nuns. Those nuns were freaky funky compared to your average Austrian citizen.

They actually have laws determining the direction in which one walks upon the sidewalk. (with traffic) I happened to be in Saltzburg and was walking "illegally" down the sidewalk. A concerned citizen came up and informed me that I was walking the wrong way down the sidewalk, and wanted to warn me that I was subject to a huge fine. I shrugged and kept going. (Shrugging drives Austrians and Germans insane) She began shouting, "What will become of you when a policeman comes along?"

I replied, "I'll turn around and start walking in the other direction."

I didn't win her over in the least.

Kathy N-V