Swarovski Article

I know it's a confusing issue - subject to our interpretation but not theirs.

My interpretation is "All they want" is for you to be able to verify tht you are using genuine Swarovski components.

I'm curious - what do you consider optical glass?

Swarovski did not start out making beads, but rather lenses. In this neck of the woods "Swarovski" refers to scopes, not beads. It's the clarity and utter lack of distortion that is required for viewing the stars (or bucks/bulls), that makes for such brilliance in the beads.

Tina

High quality glass, plus special machinery to perfectly facet the crystals. I think the machines they invented to do that were designed over 100 years ago.

T>Swarovski did not start out making beads, but rather lenses. In this neck

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "JL Amerson" :

]I know that seems to stink but can YOU guarantee that the crystals really ]are Swarovski? Are YOU willing to put your professional reputation on the ]line for something that really isn't in your control?

well, it is in my control who i purchase from.

]We know that some people are so damned dishonest that they will say their ]crystals are Swarovski and they get the package marked "Made Elsewhere". ]Unless your supplier has given you proof, you don't know. Your supplier may ]be honest and THEIR supplier is the deceitful one. Hey, after all, all ]Austrian crystals are Swarovskis, right?

true. i quit buying at shows when it seemed to me that was what was happening - in several areas - not just with crystals. that said, if i HAVE done the work to make sure that is what i'm getting, being forced to label my jewelry "Austrian" is just as unfair to me - because it devalues my work and the time and effort i went to.

]What if someone was making jewelry very similar to yours and sold it as ]"Vicki Jean Jewelry"? Let's say it was made nicely but *not quite* up to ]your standards. Yes, your name is out there but ...............

but i'm NOT selling "Swarovski jewelry". i'm selling Vicki Jean jewelry, made with Swarovski [as well as other] components. and honestly, anyone viewing my site would see that very clearly.

i don't think i'm being argumentative, honestly!

----------- @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

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

]Vicki, I think you may have misunderstood my point with this. ]I was using a lampworker as an example of how it would be wrong for someone to ]claim to *be* that lampworker. ]I said, if someone made a crappy bead and then claimed it was made by Pati ]Walton. ]And how we would all flock to the defense of Pati because someone did this to ]her.

okay - i understand that part.

]The same thing is happening to Swarovski. ]Companies are making crap crystal beads and claiming that they are Swarovski ]beads.

agreed - that's wrong, illegal, and a bunch of other things. it also goes with dying stones and not revealing that.

]Just because Swarovski is a huge company does not mean they don't deserve the ]same respect that we would offer to a smaller business. ]They don't want people using their name. Period. For any reason. Unless they ]personally authorize you to do so. ]This is the only way they have to help insure that people stop abusing their ]name.

well, this is where i have a problem. if i go to the time and effort to make sure i AM purchasing their crystals, and spend the money for that quality, they want to turn around and punish me by not allowing me to say that the components ARE theirs. i don't see how they can have it both ways.

ie: pay a premium price for our product - but you must use a generic name.

----------- @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

Slightly different subject.

What happens with classes for "Swarovski and Pearl Necklaces", etc.

Tina

I know you aren't being argumentative. Neither am I. We are just seeing two slightly different sides of the same story. For a change, I am siding more with the company (I am normally extremely pro-consumer) because I've seen what happens when companies don't protect their good name.

We're still friends, right? :-)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "JL Amerson" :

]We're still friends, right? :-)

gods, i hope so!!!!!!! with the way my life is going, i really don't want to p*ss people off!

----------- @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

Amen Sister! And smooches to you!

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "JL Amerson" :

]Amen Sister! And smooches to you!

**smile** thank you - you have no idea how much that means.

sometimes, having Jalynne to talk to at night is the only thing that keeps me going.

----------- @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

Agreed. If I made anything with crystals, I would be tempted to go with a less expensive generic product (e.g., Czech crystals) if I had to use a generic name in describing the components.

Confession time: I can't tell a quality difference between Swarovski crystals and Czech crystals, at least at small sizes. Last time I was at General Bead, I bought a few of each kind at 4mm and then I poured them all into my hand and tried to sort them back out. They really were virtually identical. My OH couldn't tell them apart either. I know customers pay more for items that say Swarovski, but if I can't tell the difference between Swarovski crystals and other crystals, I'm sure most customers can't either.

Further research to come.

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

]I know ]customers pay more for items that say Swarovski, but if I can't tell the ]difference between Swarovski crystals and other crystals, I'm sure most ]customers can't either.

granted they probably can't. but if i go to the time, trouble, and expense to buy them, i at least expect to be able to say so, since i've spent so much time explaining to my customers WHY!

----------- @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

Thank you. :)

I can't for the life of me see how this anti-branding campaign helps them sell crystals.

Wouldn't it behoove them to come out with another brand-name for the crystals that their consumers were allowed to say?

-Kalera

DreamBeadr wrote:

This sums up how I feel quite well. I specifically buy Swarovski - and I am sure that the vendor I buy from sells real Swarovski - because it is the best, and the name says to customers that it is the best. Why am I going to pay way more money for Swarovski crystals, and then not even be able to say they are Swarovski crystal components?

If someone wants to find a place that sells jewelry made with Swarovski components, for example on Ebay, they're not going to go searching for "Austrian crystal". Most people don't know that they are the same thing, they want to see the Swarovski name. This means that omitting that name means a loss for the designer, because most consumers won't pay Swarovski prices if they don't know it's Swarovski.

I am all for brand-protection, but this seems ludicrous to me.

Yeah, these are all good points and great questions. There are some things I don't understand as well. Unfortunately it really doesn't change much. We're still obligated to play by Swarovski's rules, no matter how we feel about those rules. They have a perfect legal right to their brand name limitations. We can debate the ethics of it, but that really doesn't solve anything. Anyone who uses or sells their crystals has four choices.

1. Obtain the proper signed permission from Swarovski to use their name.

1. Stop using their name and refer to their beads as Austrian crystals.

2. Continue to use their name and risk being warned/sued/slapped with a fine.

1. Stop using their products altogether.

Me, I choose #2 until #1 becomes possible for me.

Well, I for one can tell the difference, in person. Many customers and crystal buyers can. Some can't. But I like knowing I am using the very best, even if I cannot use the name until I get permission.

Option 2a), refer to them as optical glass, or optical leaded crystal. That describes the qualities of their superior product and leaves off their name as they request.

Tina