In 1862, Daniel Swarovski was born in northern Bohemia where glass manufacturing reaches back well into the 14th century. His focus was on ornamental glass elements for the jewelry and fashion industry. Daniel Swarovski began to experiment with machines to create faceted crystal jewelry stones and invented an automatic glass faceting machine. His breakthrough resulted in a superior product in terms of efficiency, appearance and quality.
In 1880, at the age of 18, Swarovski traveled to Paris to introduce his product and new ideas. In Paris and other fashion-forward cities diamonds were growing in popularity, and the possibility of a more economical diamond cut crystal appealed to the masses. He recognized the potential for his invention and began to develop a brilliant cut crystal.
In 1883, Swarovski visited the International Electric Exhibition in Vienna, where he saw machines invented by Edison and others. Recognizing the significance of the new technology for his own industry, Swarovski set out to develop an electric crystal cutting machine. In 1892, he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of lead crystal glass jewelry in Prague.
In 1895, Swarovski, financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski Company, originally known as A. Kosman, Daniel Swarovski & Co. The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Austria, to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes which Daniel Swarovski had patented.
Through the years, Swarovski has grown into an international company with several subsidiaries. Swarovski is renowned worldwide for manufacturing high-quality crystal products in a variety of forms, sizes and shapes.
In 1880, at the age of 18, Swarovski traveled to Paris to introduce his product and new ideas. In Paris and other fashion-forward cities diamonds were growing in popularity, and the possibility of a more economical diamond cut crystal appealed to the masses. He recognized the potential for his invention and began to develop a brilliant cut crystal.
In 1883, Swarovski visited the International Electric Exhibition in Vienna, where he saw machines invented by Edison and others. Recognizing the significance of the new technology for his own industry, Swarovski set out to develop an electric crystal cutting machine. In 1892, he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of lead crystal glass jewelry in Prague.
In 1895, Swarovski, financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski Company, originally known as A. Kosman, Daniel Swarovski & Co. The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Austria, to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes which Daniel Swarovski had patented.
Through the years, Swarovski has grown into an international company with several subsidiaries. Swarovski is renowned worldwide for manufacturing high-quality crystal products in a variety of forms, sizes and shapes.
Czech Glass Beads
For hundreds of years Bohemia, now Czech Republic, has been famous for it's beautiful and colorful glass. With abundant natural resources, Czech glassmakers developed glass much more stable then the popular glass from Italy. Now world famous for it's striking beauty, clarity and durability, no other glass can match the techniques or technology. Hundreds of colors are available but each bead is unique on it's own and difficult to reproduce. A perfect compliment to my lampwork beads that will be treasured for many generations!
LAMP WORK BEADS
LAMPWORK is a term
that refers to "torch" made beads. Many years ago,
before propane and oxygen torches, beads were made
over small wick type lamps. That is where the term
"lampwork" originated.
Lampwork beads are made with a type of
soft glass
or hard glass.
This glass comes in rods about the thickness of a
pencil. The rod is heated in the flame until it
becomes soft, and then is manipulated on a metal rod
called a mandrel into bead designs. The final step is
a process called annealing which hardens the bead over
several hours in a kiln. It's a time consuming and
painstaking process that can take hours to complete
depending on the complexity of the design.
The History of Lampwork Glass Beads
Lampwork is an ancient technique of using a flame to melt glass. Hot glass working skills came to us from a long history starting with the Syrians around 1700 BC, the Egyptians around 1450 BC, the Chinese around 550 BC, the Romans at the turn of the first millennium, and with the French, German, Italian, Indian and Islamic folks bringing us up to the present. The "lamp" in lampwork came from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth or with a bellows into an oil lamp flame with a small pipe makes just enough heat to soften and form the softer types of glass. I'm always amazed at what great work the early lampworkers were able to do with such a minimal amount of equipment. The Lampwork Technique
Lampworking involves the process of melting glass in a hot flame on a steel mandrel. The molten glass is wound around the mandrel until the desired size and style are achieved. The flame used to melt the glass is produced by mixing gas, either natural or propane, and oxygen. Thus the flame produced is hot enough to melt glass. A torch is the primary tool for the flame. Once a bead is formed and the artist is finished with the actual creation process there are several more steps involved before the bead is ready to be used in fine jewelry. The bead is then placed in a kiln to start the annealing process. Annealing is the process of bringing down the temperature of the glass very slowly. Annealing makes a glass bead very strong and durable. When a bead is taken out of the kiln it is still on the steel mandrel. The cooled bead is soaked in water to soften the bead release agent. Once the bead is removed the holes are cleaned and filed. Artist made “Lampwork” glass beads are one-of-a-kind, and should be considered art work that is wearable. No two lampwork beads are identical.
The History of Lampwork Glass Beads
Lampwork is an ancient technique of using a flame to melt glass. Hot glass working skills came to us from a long history starting with the Syrians around 1700 BC, the Egyptians around 1450 BC, the Chinese around 550 BC, the Romans at the turn of the first millennium, and with the French, German, Italian, Indian and Islamic folks bringing us up to the present. The "lamp" in lampwork came from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth or with a bellows into an oil lamp flame with a small pipe makes just enough heat to soften and form the softer types of glass. I'm always amazed at what great work the early lampworkers were able to do with such a minimal amount of equipment. The Lampwork Technique
Lampworking involves the process of melting glass in a hot flame on a steel mandrel. The molten glass is wound around the mandrel until the desired size and style are achieved. The flame used to melt the glass is produced by mixing gas, either natural or propane, and oxygen. Thus the flame produced is hot enough to melt glass. A torch is the primary tool for the flame. Once a bead is formed and the artist is finished with the actual creation process there are several more steps involved before the bead is ready to be used in fine jewelry. The bead is then placed in a kiln to start the annealing process. Annealing is the process of bringing down the temperature of the glass very slowly. Annealing makes a glass bead very strong and durable. When a bead is taken out of the kiln it is still on the steel mandrel. The cooled bead is soaked in water to soften the bead release agent. Once the bead is removed the holes are cleaned and filed. Artist made “Lampwork” glass beads are one-of-a-kind, and should be considered art work that is wearable. No two lampwork beads are identical.
