The poetry and enchantment of crystal

The world of Markus Langes Swarovski is like the crystal that his company is famous for. It is brilliant and full of facets. Last week, he landed in Hong Kong aboard the crystal-studded Swarovski private jet, accompanied by his glamorous wife, Caroline.

Markus was there on a mission: to launch A World of Beauty, the book that he directed and was launched during fashion week in Paris last October. The book celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Daniel Swarovski Collection and traces the metamorphosis of luxury in which Swarovski’s couture brand, Daniel Swarovski, has played such a crucial role.

The book is a jewel in its own right. It relates the history and heritage of the art of crystal, a history that was shaped by the company’s visionary founder, Daniel Swarovski I. Markus writes in his foreword: " Crystal has captured the mood of our moment and yet it is the timelessness of this material and its ability to transcend fashions and trends, to reflect the dreams and desires of each age, that has turned it into an essential ingredient of creative expression today. Its lightness and brilliance, its intriguing contradictions of mystery and clarity, fire and ice, ethereal and physical, and most of all, its inherent optimism, have sparked the imagination of artists, artisans, and designers, in all areas of creativity, from fashion and jewelry to sculpture, interiors and architecture. Through crystal they are bringing an air of celebration and luxury, a spirit of generosity and abundance into our daily lives." I skimmed through the book and the chapter I loved most was the "Poetry of Crystal." It describes crystal as a material filled with a mystical inner light, touched with poetry and intimacy. Created and crafted with passion, crystal communicates through its own lyrical language – poignant, moving, expressing a range of emotions. This chapter looks at the extraordinary qualities and associations of crystal, its clarity and purity that have always symbolized truth, its fiery brilliance, resonant and life affirming, its mirror like infinite depths and reflections, full of memories and dreams. Crystal is the material with soul.

The chapter "Glamour" explains that crystal is used by celebrities to add glamour to their look. In forms of jewelry, handbags, hair combs and other hair accessories like tiaras, hair clips, shoe and belt buckles, they add tantalizing touches of light from head to toe for the lady of fashion. Expensive and considered a precious and exclusive luxury, they are often mixed with precious metals, set by hand into desirable, fashionable jewels that are sold alongside fine jewelry.

In 1950, Manfred Swarovski, the grandson of Daniel Swarovski I, created the celebrated Aurora Borealis crystal stone especially for Christian Dior. The couturier’s inspiration was drawn from the 18th-century magnificence of the candlelit mirrors and chandeliers of Versailles. Manfred ‘s Aurora Borealis (an iridescent, fiery stone with rainbow glints)became a worldwide phenomenon, its coating technique adapted through the years to produce other Swarovski classics. Most couture houses use Swarovski crystals to accessorize their haute-couture creations.

The creative team and the driving force behind Daniel Swarovski is led by Rosemary Le Gallais. She is tireless in searching for new ideas, inspirations and innovations. She and her creative team aim to find new creative expressions for crystal by challenging conventions of color, form and scale, translucencies and texture. The result is phenomenal. Le Gallais believes that "inspiration comes from whatever you live through." For her, creativity means spontaneity, responding to myriad stimuli in our world, all day, every day. It may be color, texture or patina, a cloud, a waterfall, a mountain view in Wattens.

Wattens, Austria, is where the Swarovski company is based since Daniel Swarovski I founded the company more than a hundred years ago.

I first discovered Swarovski crystal in the Swedish airport’s duty-free shop way back in the ’80s. I was so attracted to their crystal figurines. I remember buying a box that contained miniature butterflies, dragonflies, a baby panda, an owl with the brightest yellow eyes, a horse and a teddy bear. I added a little bit more to that collection through the years but now I collect only their accessories which are so fashionable and fabulous to wear.

During the book launch in Hong Kong, I noticed a lot of glamorous women wearing Swarovski accessories in the form of bags, necklaces, watches, rings and bracelets. I myself was so mesmerized by the unique pieces on display, notably on the neck of Allyson Pyrah, executive director for Consumer Goods. Red, black and white crystals cascaded down her collarbone to her chest.

Melvin Chua, whose successful company Ink Pak Communications engineered the successful book launching, made sure that Hong Kong’s glitterati was there in full force. Movie stars, top magazine editors from Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, Tatler, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan, models and model-agency honchos, movers and shakers of Hong Kong’s five-star boutiques (Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chloé, etc.), were all there.

Not to be missed were some accomplished Filipino businessmen and journalists, including former Philippine STAR writer Paula Nocon, who is now working for West-East magazine in Hong Kong; Liza Ilarde; Alex Vergara of Inquirer; Anton San Diego, editor of Philippine Tatler; Blue Carreon, who is now with Hong Kong Tatler; Bench top honcho Ben Chan, businessman Miguel Pastor, YS columnist Wendy Puyat Hotung, Michelle Periquet, and beauteous Audrey Puckett Chiu. A privileged few (which included us), were invited to a seated gourmet dinner in Isola, the favorite Italian restaurant of Hong Kong’s café society, while the rest of the guests partied at the swinging KEE Club in Lan Kwai Fong. Markus and his entourage boarded the Swarovski jet before dawn the next day, resting on the success of his book launch. Through his book, readers will recognize a new depth of emotion and poetry to the art of crystal.