In September 2014, WBRBOnline added features to the Swarovski Database that has over 3300 items in it. The new functionality in the software allows subscribers to record and keep their inventory of their Swarovski crystal collection.
Swarovski Software using WBRB Swarovski Database
Warner’s Blue Ribbon Books on Swarovski Crystal has been annually publishing books on Swarovski figurines for over 20 years! Their online counterpart, www.wbrbonline.com, allows subscribers to access identical factual information as their printed Swarovski books for a fraction of the price. Users may view a plethora of information on current and retired Swarovski figurines: Swarovski Name, Swarovski Part Number, Swarovski System Number, Swarovski Designer, MSRP, ERV (better known as the Swarovski Value for insurance purposes), dimensions, Swarovski Introduction Date, Status (year retired or current), which Swarovski Logos are on the figurine, and a paragraph of information on the crystal piece.
In the recent enhancements, Warner’s Blue Ribbon Books added new functionality to the site that should be pleasing to Swarovski collectors looking for an all-inclusive solution to inventory their Swarovski figurines. Former Star Track Software users, who found their Swarovski software was no longer being updated or supported as of 2009, welcome the new functionality. Just like Star Track Software, users can enter custom insurance values. The WBRB Swarovski Software also allows users to download a text file. This file can be used with programs like MS Excel to format data to their liking for a printed report. A complete Swarovski Software Demo can be found on the WBRB Trax web site.
This is wonderful news for Swarovski crystal fanatics who might be missing Star Track Software. This may just be the time to get a Swarovski Software subscription and update your inventory!
(Article updated to reflect images and website URL in Nov, 2023)
Just this week, the crystal giant has officially launched their Swarovski Midnight Celebration in Las Vegas. It is a spectacular light and sound show, lasting about 3 minutes. Swarovski’s vision in the starburst was that it would create a New Year’s Eve excitement 365 days / year!
Swarovski Starburst at Midnight
This unique starburst is the only one in the world. Measuring about 14 feet in diameter, it features 911 custom-cut Swarovski spheres and over 1800 points of LED lights. The light-action show is choreographed to music.
Swarovski Storefront with Starburst
The Swarovski Starburst is located above the 400-foot free-standing pavilion store on the Las Vegas strip. Even the design of the pavilion store architecture was to have the store resemble cut crystal utilizing many angular facets.
Swarovski Starburst Light Show
The Grand Bazaar shops, which Swarovski is a part of, opened the outdoor shopping attraction on February 26. Following the motif that bazaar shops allow bartering, there will even be items that shoppers can do some price-negotiating….can you imagine…..bartering at a Swarovski store! The featured items may change daily. Store hours for this location are 9:30am to 12:30am daily.
So, whether you want to see the Swarovski Starburst Light Show, visit and barter in the Swarovski shop, or simply have a great time in Las Vegas, this sounds like a must see stop for Swarovski crystal fanatics!
It seems that nearly everyone is using fitness trackers these days, measuring their activities as well as their sleep. There are pros and cons to every device ranging from price, accuracy, battery life, and color. I found one that is a definite ‘PRO’ in terms of fashion and bling with a sweet battery life and features a waterproof activity tracker!
Misfit Swarovski Slake Set Fitness Activity Tracker
Yesterday, I saw that Misfit Wearables (a hardware company that designs and manufactures wearable products that utilize sensor technology) and Swarovski have teamed up for some useful, blingy, fashionable fitness trackers! The activity tracker is a fully faceted crystal in a Swarovski exclusive cut, that measures your activities and sleep, and syncs with your smartphone. A battery is included, which from several sites appears to be replaceable and lasts 4 to 8 months.
The Swarovski Shine Vio Set, Swarovski Shine Slake Set, and Swarovski Shine Piofioria Set are shown on the Swarovski web site, however, at this time, the pre-order must be done at the Misfit web site. These sets include the actual activity tracker. Prices for the sets are $169 – $249. One article indicated that the sets would be available at Swarovski.com in the spring of 2015.
Additionally, pendant and wristband accessories (without the device tracker) can be pre-ordered at the Misfit web site: Serora Pendant, Lisea Pendant, Vio Pendant, Cardoon Leather Wristband, Cleyera Wristband, Piofioria Wristband, and Slake Bracelet (in light gray, medium gray, and black). Prices for the accessories are $69 – $149.
Misfit Swarovski Purple Solar Activity Tracker
And that’s not all…. while I was researching for the article, I learned that yet another Swarovski Misfit tracker seem to be on the horizon! I found pictures of a purple stone in a navy or purple slake bracelet. The article with it sites that the purple one (Violet Swarovski Shine) is going to be a solar-powered fitness tracker! The launch date of the Swarovski solar powered activity tracker was not evident anywhere I looked.
The Misfit Solutions are shown in their store for pre-order: Swarovski Shine Collection as well as the Swarovski site: Swarovski Activity Tracker. Naturally, Misfit’s apps in Google Play and the Apple App Store allow users to get tracking information on their phone.
Seriously….seeing all this makes me want to track my activities just so I can get one! This is exciting new for fitness fanatics and Swarovski crystal fanatics alike!
A month or so back, I came across an article discussing how many large companies and consumers are being victimized by fraudulent websites. One company specifically mentioned was Swarovski. And the number of fake websites modeling theirs is growing. Sadly enough, consumers and Swarovski crystal fanatics looking for a great deal on their favorite figurines and jewelry are likely to only end up with headaches and frustrated for weeks or months until the matter is closed.
The scenario is this… a fraudster group of individuals picks a brand to target, in this case Swarovski. They purchase a domain name (less than $50 for one year) that any normal internet user might believe is the official Swarovski brand. Then the scammers get to work building the website (or pay to have it done). Oftentimes, this heartless group will steal images, artwork, logos, and other material directly from the luxury brand’s own web site! On the fake Swarovski websites, the prices will be so slashed, that it might be hard to resist. The web site looks real. The images are indeed Swarovski products. The prices look great. Why not! Well, the ‘Why Not?’ should be easy…if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true.
Here are some of the non-official websites I located doing research for this article. I intentionally did not link to them, so you will have to re-type them into another browser window to navigate to the site. For legal reasons, I must say that I’m NOT implying that these sites sell fakes; I am indicating that they are NOT the official brand that we think they are when looking at the products advertised on their sites. Just like any other websites, consider the potential for malware (though I don’t believe there were any issues when I visited them):
Non-Official Site #1: www.swarovskisale.co
Non-Official Site #2: www.swarovski-store.net
Non-Official Site #3: www.cheap-swarovski.net
Non-Official Site #4: www.swarovski-shop.me
Non-Official Site #5: www.swarovski-onlineshop.com
Non-Official Site #6: www.swarovski-outletuk.co.uk
Just for kicks, I picked a non-official website, and began the process to place an order. When I picked to pay by credit card, I was transferred to a 3rd party payment domain owned by an individual or company in China. I switched my method of payment to Western Union, and saw that the recipient address displayed was again in China. So, lastly I selected Bank Transfer, and again, the recipient information shows a destination in China. Might this be an indicator of a Swarovski scam? Certainly so! After all, the official Swarovski brand is NOT in China!
Is this the luxury brand’s official web site……?
Is this an official Swarovski website?
Or Is this the luxury brand’s official web site……?
Is this an official Swarovski website?
Or is this the luxury brand’s official web site……?
Is this an official Swarovski website?
Naturally, Swarovski’s legal team goes after cyber-squatters whose sole purpose is to defraud consumers. Here is one such domain name that Swarovski has claimed: www.swarovski-sale.com . From various sites where consumers report scams, this domain name appeared numerous times, so it was very wise for the crystal giant to display a blank page instead of the official Swarovski website.
Despite Swarovski getting control of the swarovski-sale.com domain name, I would be certain that the process is expensive and takes a good bit of time wading through all the proper channels of command, so there is plenty of opportunity time-wise for consumers to be victimized by the scammers. In most complaints and cases I read posted by the victims themselves, they report:
Receiving cheap plastic substitutions
Having emails that don’t use the domain name itself, i.e. Swarovski-deal @ xyz-mail.com . In some cases, there is no email at all. They use a ‘contact us’ form that essentially does nothing.
If there is email correspondence, it contains very poor and broken English and grammar
Social Networking text and graphics on the website pages are not actual links (‘Share Your Story’, ‘Like Us on Facebook’, ‘Follow Us on Twitter’, ‘Share This’, etc)
Swarovski crystal collectors and those who enjoy Swarovski jewelry should stick with reliable sources. Don’t become a victim of Swarovski fraud. Send emails to the website company for more information about their guarantees and return policies to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate company. Follow your instinct; if it seems fishy, it probably is fishy.
Crystal collectors can count on the Swarovski Experts at Crystal Exchange America to ensure the figurines purchased from them are indeed genuine Swarovski. Check out the Crystal Exchange America website at www.CrystalExchange.com for retired and hard to find Swarovski figurines.
I have marvelous news for Swarovski collectors and new owners of Swarovski crystal figurines…the Warner’s Blue Ribbon Book on Swarovski Silver CrystalSwarovski book is now available!
This Swarovski book is in its 20th year of publication. The book authors, Tom and Jane Warner, are serious Swarovski collectors and update / re-publish the set of Swarovski books each year.
The Swarovski Silver Crystal book contains photos with detailed information about Swarovski SCS crystal figurines and the newly named Crystal Nature (formerly Silver Crystal) figurine releases (as well as product variations on them) for the past 35 years! That’s approximately 1500 Swarovski Crystal figurines in this book!
Warner’s Blue Ribbon Book on Swarovski, 2013 Ed.
There fundamental reasons for annually updating the Swarovski book are to:
Include preceding year Swarovski new releases and retirement data
Update Swarovski Value for insurance purposes (Swarovski ERV in the publication)
Research for the 2013 Swarovski book was performed just 2 months ago in January 2013, so the computed Swarovski ERV values for the retired Swarovski figurines for the 2013 edition is definitely fresh.
Some collectors feel that ‘values’ may be stagnant, and consider NOT purchasing books on a regular basis. However that is not necessarily the case when it comes to ‘insurance values’. No one wants to overpay for insurance, and no one wants to be under-compensated when there are tragic losses. Some collectors feel that trading values in the online auctions may be one possible way to determine a buying price if replacement Swarovski figurines need to be purchased, and that may be ok for some people who have very small collections (less than 50 figurines). But honestly…WHO has time and energy to research the statistics for a medium or large size collection (i.e. 300+ pieces). The Swarovski Experts have already done all that work for collectors, so it make the most sense to purchase the books and use their professional recommendations for insuring Swarovski crystal collections!
Swarovski is all about innovative ideas to engage crystal fanatics in social media, online experiences, and games on phones and electronic devices.
Swarovski Passport to Sparkle
Keeping that in mind, Swarovski US is introducing a new rewards program. It is the Swarovski Passport to Sparkle. Some SCS collectors may have already received ‘passport’ in the mail, while others will need to visit their local Swarovski boutique. Once the Swarovski passport is in hand, you need to register it at the Swarovski boutique. Special events will be going on in the months ahead, and the boutiques have special ‘stamps’ to mark your passport.
Good news for participants, the first level of reward is 6 stamps, the second is 10 stamps. Prizes are awarded monthly, with the grand prize a trip to Rio de Janerio. Who wouldn’t want to win that!
The crystal giant has created a micro-site to detail the adventure… Swarovski Passport to Sparkle.
The home page also lists how to get started, explains the various Jet Setter gifts, and highlights prizes and destinations. There are so many different aspects of the adventure that is well worth your time to visit all the areas of the site.
The requirements to participate are minimal: no purchase is necessary, but you must be a legal resident of the US, Washington DC or Puerto Rico and at least 21 years of age. (And naturally, the full set of rules is available at the micro-site.)
You can follow Emma on her travels in her travel blog, beginning in Paris.
Only a limited number of passports were made, so if this peaks your interest…you may want to contact your local Swarovski boutique soon! Best of luck to all Swarovski fanatics getting involved in this contest!
Last year, Swarovski launched 2 Skull figurines as a part of the Soulmates group. They are unique, and the crystal fanatics that have talked to us, don’t seem to want the Swarovski Skulls in their crystal cabinet.
After release of the Skull figurines, Swarovski began releasing men’s jewelry with the Skull motif: pendants, cufflinks, keyrings, and more. I found a total of 21 product offerings in the online Swarovski Shoppe when I queried ‘Skull’.
Recently, I found another Skull item in their store with some integrated technology. And it’s an Online Limited Edition! As the title of our article reveals, it is an iPhone 4 and 4S Swarovski N the Skull Docking Station.
Here’s a summary of the product taken directly from the Swarovski web site:
Limited to just 199 pieces, this unique fashion accessory makes a very special gift for modern men. Perfect for charging or transferring data to your phone, it comes with a USB cable and is compatible with the iPhone® 4 and 4S (iPhone® is a trademark of Apple Inc). The skull shines darkly in Jet Hematite crystal with a ruthenium finish metal face. It is engraved with the individual Limited Edition number.
It’s a good thing that Swarovski didn’t make too many of these…when the iPhone 5 was released in September, Apple changed the charging port from a 30-pin adapter to a ‘lightning’ adapter. That means that the Swarovski iPhone Skull will not work with the newest iPhone 5 models.
If you have the older iPhone 4 or 4S and are considering the purchase of a Swarovski charging station, the Swarovski Skull charger will set you back a mere $1100. But act quickly as less than 200 N the Skull Docking Station, Swarovski Limited Online Edition are available at their web site!
The Swarovski Crystal Journey 2012 has concluded its trip, sad for the lucky crystal fanatics aboard. It would have been the experience of a lifetime to be part of the trip!
On Wednesday, some of our favorite designers were on the boat, for a brief question and answer session. In this small get-together, the artists in attendance were:
Swarovski Designer Martin Zendron (far left)
Swarovski Designer Adi Stocker (center)
Swarovski Designer Gabriele Stamey (right)
Swarovski Designers: Martin Zendron, Adi Stocker, & Gabriele Stamey
Martin Zendron is credited with over 70 designs, including the Swarovski NLE Wild Horses and 5 Swarovski AE figurines: Swarovski Elephant, Swarovski Unicorn, Swarovski Antonio, and Swarovski Harmony (clear and colored).
Adi Stocker is credited with over 100 designs, including 3 Swarovski NLE: Swarovski Eagle, Swarovski Peacock, and Swarovski Bull; and 6 Swarovski AE: Swarovski Woodpeckers, Swarovski Turtledoves, Swarovski Lion, Swarovski Pegasus, Swarovski Pierrot, and Swarovski Isadora.
Gabriele Stamey is credited with over 70 designs, including 2 Swarovski AE: Swarovski Dragon and Swarovski Columbine, as well as 2 Swarovski SCS Commemorative Editions: Swarovski 5th Anniversary Birthday Cake and Swarovski Vase of Roses.
During this gathering, it was hinted that Swarovski may cease to try reviving older designs by adding color as this concept is not all that popular with collectors. I, for one, completely agree. To me, it’s like taking plaid bell bottoms from the 70’s and changing the plaid to polka dots and wanting people to wear them again!
Hopefully, we can get a few more pictures and information from the final hours of the Swarovski 2012 Crystal Journey.
It has been reported that there is a crystal stowaway on the Swarovski Crystal Journey! Fortunately, the stowaway is a Swarovski Masterpiece, and not something unpleasant.
So, what exactly is the stowaway? It is a Swarovski Pointiage Swan. This swan is approximately 16.5 cm in length, 10.5 cm high, and weights about 1.215 grams.
Swarovski Pointiage Swan, LE of 25
Besides the size, and roaming locations of the Pointiage Swan, here are some other facts we have on it. The Swarovski Pointiage Swan is a Limited Edition of 25 units. More than 33,350 stones were used to assemble it, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Swarovski SCS Club. The designer of this Masterpiece Swan is Anton Hirzinger.
This Swarovski Swan is being auctioned off at the end of the Swarovski Crystal Journey. The minimum bid is 4,000 Euro, which is approximately $5,025 USD.
It will be interesting to find out the winning bid (if it sells). Hopefully we will get that information at the conclusion of the trip. Best of luck to all Swarovski crystal fanatics who participate in the bidding!
Hopefully, we can get a few more pictures and information from the final hours of the 2012 Crystal Journey.
Be sure to check the Kristall Buzz frequently for the duration of the week-long cruise for a brief digest of what is happening on the Swarovski Crystal Journey!
The Swarovski Crystal Journey 2012 group continued on the cruise and tours. On August 22, some crystal fanatics visited the Swarovski flagship store in Vienna. The store is a massive 3 floors!
One well-known display at this location is the collection of 45 Eclectic Panthers.
And there are other articles that can be found using the term ‘eclectic’ in the search box in the upper right corner of the browser window.
Another interesting display at the flagship store is a truly giant Chaton. This chaton measures about 11″ in diameter. If you look at the zoomed in embedded photo, a smaller chaton can be seen inside of the giant chaton!
Be sure to check the Kristall Buzz frequently for the duration of the week-long cruise for a brief digest of die-hard collectors are enjoying on the 2012 Swarovski Crystal Journey!
