The Central Saint Martins X Swarovski Jewellery Competition saw first year Jewellery Design students at Central Saint Martins (part of the University of the Arts London) issued with Swarovski elements and gemstones with which to let their imaginations run wild.

Students were divided into four groups and given four themes: Berlin, Istanbul, Fiction and Luminescence, from which the designs must be conceived. The final pieces were presented last Friday 4^th May to Nadja Swarovski, jewellery designer Hannah Martin and In Detail (http://indtl.com/) blogger, Beanie Major.

Overall there were 45 entries and the quality was exceptional, as judge Beanie Major, commented in her article on GraziaDaily.co.uk: “The quality of work and high level of craftsmanship across the forty-five entries was outstanding making it a difficult choice all round.”

First prize, judged on concept, design, wearability and final presentation, went to Nadezhda Fedotova (image above) for her interpretation of fiction. Fedotova’s work was inspired by ceremonial African masks and voodoo relics, resulting in a multifunctional magnetic ‘hidden faces’ bracelet made from brass, carved wood and Swarovski gemstones.

Other winning designs included a brass and feathered neck-piece shaped like smoke from a Turkish harem, and a necklace made from crystals mixed with concrete to represent the Berlin Wall.

Swarovski have been sponsoring Central St Martins for the last decade, and the latest jewellery competition is a celebration of that close relationship and bond over the years. The winning designs will be on display at Central Saint Martins from Monday 14th until Friday 18^th May.

But where high-profile jewellery product endorsements are concerned, Britney isn’t the first celebrity to bask in their prosperity and she certainly won’t be the last. This kind of publicity is particularly rampant on the red carpet during awards season – the advertising and promotion that an eye-catching piece can offer, when worn by a spotlit celebrity, is worth its weight in gold.

Jewellers and celebrities tend to be secretive about the details of these kinds of red carpet endorsements for obvious reasons, but rumours have suggested that Anne Hathaway was paid a cool $750,000 for wearing Tiffany jewellery when she co-hosted the Academy Awards last year. One of the featured pieces was this Lucida Star necklace (shown left), estimated to be worth around $10 million.

Similarly, at last year’s Oscars, Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly picked up a paycheck of $500,000 for wearing jewellery from Louis Vuitton’s L’Ame du Voyage collection (Paltrow with earrings shown right). But it was Natalie Portman who stole the show that night for her role in Black Swan, and the Tiffany jewellery she wore received the most publicity as a result.

Her tassel earrings (shown below) have been imitated for profit across the high-street jewellery sector ever since. Just plug a search into Google for ‘Natalie Portman tassel earrings’ and, rather than receiving a bunch of results covering her Oscar success, you’re more likely to be redirected onto sites selling cheaper interpretations of the designs for the mass market, or webpages illustrating how to make your own versions.

This shows how celebrity endorsements don’t merely provide exposure for big brand jewellers; they can also change the dynamics of the jewellery market altogether. Take, for example, how Le Vian partnered with Halle Berry in their successful attempt to re-market brown diamonds a few years ago as ‘chocolate diamonds’. Despite the fact that brown diamonds are more common and less dazzling (making them less valuable), this application of targeted marketing helped Le Vian to improve the stature of brown diamonds as an aspirational product.

And finally, Mikimoto’s recent promotional venture with World Figure Skating Champion, Miki Ando. The Japanese retailer of luxury pearl jewellery commissioned renowned designer, Yumi Katsura, to make a wedding dress that Ando would then endorse. Adorned with 13,262 Akoya Pearls embroidered into the garment, it’s a reminder that celebrity jewellery endorsements aren’t all motivated by publicity alone – sometimes they’re used as an opportunity to create something truly unique.

Thanks to the LA Times.

Swarovski were the company that pioneered glass-cutting technology in the early-20^th century (that makes many of Stephen Arnold’s wholesale Swarovski crystals possible today), and has sought to use technological innovations using crystals as an agent for change. Over the past decade Swarovski has commissioned leading figures in international design, Ron Arad, Yves Béhar, Paul Cocksedge, Fredrikson Stallard and more.

The Digital Crystal exhibition will exhibit those works along with new innovations by designers from all around the world, from well known designers to up and coming stars. Due to open on 5^th September, the general public will have the chance to explore what the changing nature of memory in the digital world means, as well as the ways in which we can recover that lost connection with the things we love.

Digital Crystal will be Swarovski’s first museum exhibition in its own right – making it a bold new step for the company. Some of the designs on show from some of the world’s top designers are:

‘Falling Light’

The London design studio Troika’s work uses custom Swarovski crystals to explore the possibilities of mechanics and light.

‘Pandora’

Fredrikson Stallard’s piece reinterprets the classic chandelier and comprises 1,990 Swarovski crystals strung to create a traditional chandelier.

‘Lolita’

Ron Arad’s chandelier was designed in 2004 and displays LED text messages on its crystal spiral.

‘Crystallize’

Paul Cocksedge’s work was originally commissioned for the Swarovski Crystal Palace in 2005, and features stunning green laser effects.

Digital Crystal is due to open on 5^th September 2012 to the general public at the Design Museum, London.

In what’s shaping up to be a meteoric season for SWAROVSKI, designers paraded their upcoming Autumn/Winter collections and exhibited an eclectic range of historical themes from the Byzantine SWAROVSKI cross at the heart of one Versace piece, to the Rococo overtones of Balmain Paris’ collection.

From left to right: Versace, Balmain Paris, and Dior

Moroccan-born Israeli fashion designer, Alber Elbaz created a powerful and opulent sleeveless dress for Lanvin Paris with some particularly extravagant SWAROVSKI. This contrasted with the more modest scattering of crystals in Nina Ricci’s ladylike day-wear.

From left to right: Givenchy, Nina Ricci, and Lanvin Paris

Following Nina Ricci’s lead, the design below from Giorgio Armani also opted for a chic day-wear style, peppered with SWAROVSKI Flat Back crystals, while Miuccia Prada’s piece showed off bold colour mixes with an asymmetric assortment of SWAROVSKI encrusted broaches.

From left to right: Prada, Collette Dinningan, and Giorgio Armani

From haute couture to high-street fashion, SWAROVSKI can add glamour to all levels of fashion. To find out more, visit Stephen Arnold SWAROVSKI Wholesale and start adding  new elements to your designs…

Source: SWAROVSKI Elements

The wristwatch, which has been commissioned by SWAROVSKI and is set for its full unveiling at the Milan Furniture Fair later this month, will be made available to the general public from September onwards.

Titled Lake of Shimmer-Avant Time No. 3, this dazzling wristwatch features a 12-faceted SWAROVSKI crystal as the centre-piece to its design, while the straps incorporate notes of Yoshioka’s Baselword stand.

Referring back to these themes from two years ago, the strap panneling depicts the reflection of light on the surface of a lake. You can see how the original installation achieved this in the video below:

Fancy trying your hand at some SWAROVSKI infused watch designs? Check out our SWAROVSKI Wholesale Flat Back Hot Fix Crystals, or perhaps the Cosmic Ring Fancy Stone, and let your timepiece creativity and imagination run wild.

Mirror Mirror reaches UK theatres 2^nd April 2012, and retells the Snow White fairy tale. It stars Lily Collins (The Blind Side) as Snow White, Julia Roberts as the evil Queen, and of course seven, albeit slightly alternative dwarfs (named Half Pint, Grimm, Wolf, Butcher, Chuckles, Grub and Napoleon). The films also stars Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.

“The Swarovski crystals were used in Eiko’s [Eiko Ishioka] designs in creating three spectacular handmade costumes for the Queen, adorned with over 100,000 Swarovski Elements in nearly twenty colours, including the outrageous golden costume ball and blood-red party dress, as well as the elaborate wedding gown,” said assistant costume designer, Martine Gagnon.

Six Swarovski chandeliers from the existing Schonbek collection added illumination and drama to the set.

“It was such a natural partnership for Swarovski to support this reinterpretation of the classic Snow White film. We were excited to apart of the costume and production designers’ creative vision. Eiko Ishioka did an amazing job designing the spectacular costumes using crystal while production designer Tom Foder creatively incorporated Swarovski chandeliers to add allure to the grand ballroom,” added Nadja Swarovski, Creative Director of Swarovski.

The production sees Swarovski add yet another glamorous Hollywood film to their collaboration list. The company has worked hand in hand over the years with costume and production designers for such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and more recent films Nine, Burlesque and Black Swan.

As we walked up the stairs to the presentation rooms, we were blown away by the amazing SWAROVSKI lamp shades. With the sun shining directly on the crystals, it really made the whole room sparkle.

We were then shown through to the SWAROVSKI Queen’s Tea Party Room, where we were served some yummy cupcakes decorated with sugar paper images of crystals and the Queen’s crown, whilst waiting for our presentation.

Dotted around the room where these beautiful items of jewellery made by SWAROVSKI Elements especially for this collection. I must say, I was really inspired already, and we hadn’t even viewed the collection yet.

Finally we had our collection presentation with our lovely ladies at SWAROVSKI, who truly looked after us!

SWAROVSKI Elements Spring Summer 2013 Trend Flag

Here are some new SWAROVSKI colours that were on display: Rose Peach (262), Crystal Luminous Green (001LUMG) and the Gemcolour Crystal Pearls.

New Colour – Rose Peach (262)

New Colour – Crystal Luminous Green – (001LUMG)

New Colours – Gemcolour Crystal Pearls

These fantastic Gemcoloured Crystal Pearls are available across the full range of Crystal Pearls a long with a range of Flat Back Hot Fix and Crystal Buttons. What a great idea to mix Flat Back Crystal Pearl Hot Fix with normal 2038 Flat Back Hot Fix Crystals. Or how about using the new Crystal Mesh Ball surrounded by Gemcolour Pearls?

Over the coming days, we shall be posting a few more blog articles based on the trend mood flag to give you some inspiration! Stay tuned…

SWAROVSKI Award for Womenswear:
Chris Peters & Shane Gabier for ‘Creatures of the Wind’
Joseph Altuzarra
Max Osterweis & Erin Beatty for ‘Suno’

SWAROVSKI Award for Menswear:
Antonio Azzuolo
Phillip Lim
Todd Snyder

SWAROVSKI Award for Accessory Design:
Irene Neuwirth
Pamela Love
Tabitha Simmons

The winners in each sub-category will not only receive financial support from SWAROVSKI for their future endeavours, but will also gain access to SWAROVSKI’s boundless crystal resources for use in their designs and creations. From SWAROVSKI Elements Sew On Stones to versatile Crytal Mesh arrays and everything in-between, only the winners’ imaginations will be the limit thanks to SWAROVSKI’s vast range.

“This year, SWAROVSKI is proud to celebrate the 11th anniversary of our partnership with the CFDA Fashion Awards,” said Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Executive Board, SWAROVSKI Crystal Business. “Each of this year’s nominees is truly an industry leader and part of the new generation of American talent. In particular, we are immensely delighted with the nominees for the SWAROVSKI Awards who are exceptionally talented and extraordinarily creative.”

The CFDA Awards are just one of a number of high-profile events that SWAROVSKI provides sponsorship funds for. Other standout examples include this year’s Vienna Opera Ball, and 2011′s Pink Swan Project in aid of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

It’s an interactive platform where crystal aficionados from all over the world can exchange creative ideas and obtain advice from each other. The website (www.create-your-style.com) is packed full of creative designs and style tips, as well as information on international competitions, and design tools such as the Colour Carousel and Technique Guide.

It acts as a sparkling hub of information to provide a truly global Swarovski creative resource, allowing users to swap design tips with other crystal enthusiasts to create the ultimate in Swarovski jewellery.

Swarovksi Elements have even created their own Create Your Style YouTube Channel that is full of great tips and tutorials of how to make your very own items.

Join the lovely Veronika Oefner, Swarovski Elements Create Your Style Trainer, as well as many other guest videos and presenters, as they take you through detailed step-by-step instructions on how to apply Swarovski Elements Crystals to your own home-made jewellery designs.

The videos include the best methods of application and how to make beautiful designs using a variety of Swarovski Elements, including the Swarovski Heart Pendant, and many more Swarovski beads and crystals.

If all that has whet your appetite for more, check out the Create Your Style online magazine PDF (the latest edition is available here: http://www.create-your-style.com/Content.Node/magazine/home.en.php) that features all the latest collections and news, as well as some gloriously impressive photography.

Available colours:

Crystal Red Coral Pearl (001 718)

Crystal Coral Pearl (001 816)

Crystal Pink Coral (001 716)

Crystal Ivory Pearl (001 708)

Crystal Jade Pearl (001 715)

Crystal Turquoise Pearl (001 709)

Crystal Lapis Pearl (001 717)

Crystal Dark Lapis Pearl (001 719)

Crystal Mystic Black Pearl (001 335)

Product Characteristics

• Extremely shiny surface – no luster
• Clear opaque colours that imitate gemstones of the finest quality
• Same size and product range as the Crystal Pearls colours
• Same price level as the Crystal Pearls colours
• Comprehensive colour assortment
• Compatible with the existing colour range of the crystal elements assortment and Crystal Pearls