Swarovski has posted to the SCS members area of the site about a couple limited edition Swarovski jewelry soon to be available.
The reason? The Swarovski online shop is TEN years old! In celebration, the Swarovski shop is launching two special limited editions that are available beginning June TEN for TEN days.
One online limited edition piece is the Swarovski Black Pearl Nude set. It includes a pendant and a pair of earrings. (From the pictures I would imagine pierce earrings, but this is not specifically stated anywhere.) The design is a black crystal pearl with two strands of clear crystal pave stones.
The other online limited edition piece is the Swarovski Medallion Pendant. This necklace design is 2 circles, joined at the top encrusted with Swarovski pave crystals. Inside each hollow loop are 5 crystal stones. I wonder if this is symbolic of putting 10 candles on a birthday cake?
There is no mention of price on either item or total quantity of production. The announcement only states that they are available June 10 through June 20 while supplies last. And of course, since they are online editions, these Swarovski TEN releases won’t be found in any stores.
Swarovski released other online limited editions just prior to Christmas, 2010. There are Kristall Buzz articles when they were released in November / December 2010, simply look in the archives.
So Swarovski crystal aficionados, mark your calendar if these items are items you want to add to your collection, either to display or to wear!
It’s early June with Father’s Day just around the corner. Is your husband, father, or grandfather among the Swarovski crystal fanatics collectors? If so, this screwdriver may be a terrific gift for him!
This Swarovski-studded cordless screwdriver is a limited edition, Swarovski embellished machine designed to celebrate the Bosch IXO model rising to the top of the power tool world. According to several web site sources, there have been over 10M sold since 2003.
Only 2000 of this limited edition screwdriver were made, each one decorated with 470 Swarovski crystal stones. Retail price? Only $470 USD!
I’m not sure that this screwdriver is available in the USA or not. I was able to find it only at the Amazon UK site, with a small quantity available there.
If a Swarovski embellished power tool is not the gift you were considering for that crystal-collecting dad, check out Crystal Exchange America’s web site for plenty of other Swarovski crystal ideas. Be sure to order soon as order fulfillment generally takes about 10 business days.
Recently, I found a Steiff / Swarovski Limited Edition Bear on the internet and did a short article here on the Kristall Buzz about the bear: Steiff Bear Sapphire is a Limited Edition Bear.
Following that article, I discovered another Steiff Bear decorated with sparkling Swarovski crystal stones.
This new teddy bear is Krystina. The bear features jet black coat of mohair. The right bear paw uses over 150 encrusted with Swarovski Elements stones to spell out Steiff. She wears a collar decorated with over 100 Swarovski crystal stones. She has a white label with the famous Steiff button in the ear.
Steiff Krystina is a limited edition bear, to be available only in 2011. The Krystina Steiff Bear can be purchased from the Danbury Mint UK site.
Yesterday I learned of some another contest for a Swarovski Limited Edition gadget: a Swarovski Union Jack Cardholder.
Not much information is given on the Swarovski Cardholder. The advertisement page does indicate that 50 of the Swarovski Union Jack Cardholders are being given away. They are decorated with red, blue, and silver Swarovski crystal stones.
This give-a-way is a part of the Swarovski crystallized Mini Cooper / Royal Wedding promotion done by Swarovski and Magic 105.4 in the UK in the week preceding the Royal Wedding.
Bazooka candy brand is now in on the ‘royal wedding’ action! Bazooka has added some Swarovski crystal bling to a (non-edible) sapphire ring pop, that’s design is supposed to resemble Kate Middleton’s engagement ring. The limited edition ring consists of a large royal blue component and is surrounded by small Swarovski crystals and has a small crystal stone on the top of the sapphire-like element.
This is a limited edition Swarovski crystal decorated ring pop. One site stated that there were only 50 of the blinged ring pops produced. I did not find any web sites or online stores actually selling the Bazooka non-candy ring, but found several instances of them being given away.
There is some exciting news for Swarovski crystal fanatics and ring pop fanatics, there is a contest on Facebook to WIN this fancy faux sapphire ring pop. The Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/ringpop . Deadline for entries into the contest is April 29, 2011 at noon EDT.
Good luck if you decide to enter the contest to win the Swarovski crystal and faux sapphire (non-edible) Limited Edition Royal Ring Pop by Bazooka!
I’m in the USA, so I don’t hear as much about the big Royal Wedding as do the residents of the UK. I’d think they hear about royal wedding updates in the media, in the streets, and at the water cooler. I imagine they see royal wedding memorabilia everywhere. Vendors wanting to come up with unique ideas and also be in on the action making a few more bucks when there is a chance.
In the UK, there is a Swarovski Limited Edition Royal Wedding Pen being sold. It is a Swarovski pen (in a Swarovski box, and Swarovski on the pen). The color is purple and it has black ink. The body is filled with 160 sparkling Swarovski crystal stones. The barrel is imprinted with “29th April 2011”, the date of HRH William and Kate’s royal wedding. The Swarovski system # is 1119199.
This Royal Wedding Pen is a Limited Edition item, with only 2,000 units produced. I found two stores in the UK selling them online. I also found the Swarovski Royal Wedding pen on ebay from two different sellers (one seller with two id’s?? I don’t know)
The Swarovski Royal Wedding Pen is shown with a Swarovski Certificate by one eBay seller. The other seller does not show or mention a certificate.
Since the pens have only the date on, they could possible represent a special date someone else’s life birthday, engagement date, anniversary, or some other special occasion. If the date April 29th is meaningful in your life, this might be a good gift idea!
Swarovski produced a variety of pen colors, and many can be found on the crystal brand web site in the Stationery category: Swarovski Pens. The retail price is in the range of $24 – $33 per pen.
I’ll be looking for more royal wedding memorabilia using Swarovski components, so stay tuned for more discoveries!
Swarovski and Clarins entered into a licensing agreement in 2008, and Swarovski Aura is the first scent to launch. I recently found a publicity video for Swarovski Aura on YouTube:
The Swarovski Aura bottles are made of glass and metal, topped with a single faceted asymmetrical Swarovski crystal. The Swarovski Aura perfume inside the glass bottle is pink in color. It appears that the bottle will be available in 2 different sizes with refill bottles of the perfume available.
It is reported that Swarovski Aura should be available in some 500 Swarovski stores when the perfume is fully launched at all channels.
In 2006, Swarovski and Clarins previously worked together commemorating fragrance Angel’s 15th anniversary.
Swarovski crystal fanatics and Ugg fanatics, get ready for your Swarovski Limited Edition Ugg Boots! These are Ugg boots, embellished with Swarovski crystals for several major markets. The Ugg boot decorations celebrate some famous cities/regions (most of which are in the USA): London, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York City, and Washington DC. According to the articles I read, the limited edition Swarovski emblazoned boots retail in the $800 – $900 price range! And the boots are only available in Ugg stores of the celebrated cities.
The New York City grey boots commemorate the New York skyline with the Empire State building in Swarovski stones. The United Kingdom version shows a crown in Swarovski crystals. There is a Union Jack version as well for the United Kingdom, that appears to be decorated with clear and red Swarovski crystal stones. The Miami, Florida Ugg boots are white, decorated with numerous colors. Pink flamingos and palm trees are obvious icons for these boots. The Los Angeles, California Ugg boots are black. The design appears to focus on the nightlife of the city and nearby Hollywood, featuring red and clear Swarovski stones. The Washington DC / Georgetown Ugg boots are naturally decorated with traditional red, white, and blue Swarovski stones, with our grand flag design: stars and stripes forever. The flag is on a grey-colored Ugg boot. The Las Vegas, Nevada Ugg boots appear to be dark brown and symbolic of the gambling in the city. Aces, poker chips, and dice are incorporated into this city design.
One site I read indicated that there were 100 pairs created for each city, and that each pair was numbered to ensure authenticity. I supposed that makes them Swarovski NLE! I did not find any mention of the release date. There is a theory that the team effort between Ugg and Swarovski will extend to other cities, as if these cities are test-market areas.
I like my Ugg boots and slippers are very comfy. However, I cannot see myself spending a small fortune on footwear embellished with crystal unless I plan to display them right next to my other Limited Edition Swarovski figurines in the cabinet!
It is very common to see acronyms used in normal Swarovski descriptions and in online auctions (due to the limitation of characters in item titles). While the majority of Swarovski crystal collectors understand the acronyms, I’m sure there are still a lot of new collectors and inexperienced bidders (aka newbies) on the scene. So, I thought I’d take some time do my best to explain the acronyms, provide history, and offer cautions on the use of them.
Swarovski LE – Swarovski Limited Edition. A Swarovski limited edition figurine may be limited by distribution channel. A Swarovski limited edition figurine may be limited by year of availability. A Swarovski limited edition figurine may be limited by quantity (but it may not be a Swarovski NLE) Examples of Swarovski Limited Editions are:
Swarovski Flower Mo – online only exclusive
Swarovski Tinker Bell – available only in 2008
Swarovski Employee Centenar – only 9700 produced
Swarovski NLE – Swarovski Numbered Limited Edition. The Swarovski Numbered Limited Edition pieces are Swarovski figurines that are etched with a number and have a pre-determined maximum production quantity. Examples of Swarovski NLE items include: Swarovski Eagle, Swarovski Peacock, Swarovski Wild Horses, Swarovski Elephant, Swarovski Bull, Swarovski Rhinoceros, and Swarovski Black Panther. Pictures of six Swarovski NLE can be found online . The four sculptures in the Swarovski Crystal Myriad Collection are additional of Swarovski NLE issues.
The difference between a Swarovski LE and Swarovski NLE is that the Swarovski LE itself is not numbered. There are also Swarovski LE figurines that have numbered certificates, such as the Swarovski masks and Swarovski Platonic Bodies. These items are not considered NLE since the number is not on the figurine itself.
Hopefully this brief discussion will help all Swarovski collectors in knowing what Limited Editions and Numbered Limited Editions are. Understanding the differences is key so that no mistakes are made in understanding just how exclusive a particular retired Swarovski figurine may be.
Being a Swarovski club member has always been a plus for the collector. Since 1987, the Swarovski Crystal Society has annually released and featured exclusive figurines only available to the SCS community.
Since the inception of the SCS, times have changed. For a number of years, the Swarovski club pieces grew tremendously in value. It seemed inevitable .pay for the figurine, store in safely in its original Swarovski Box with its Swarovski Certificate of Authenticity, wait a few years, then sell it for double, triple, or even higher from the original purchase price. What a deal! First were the Caring and Sharing series (1987-1989), Mother and Child (1990-1992), Inspiration Africa (1993-1995), and Fabulous Creatures (1996-1998). All performed very well on the secondary market after that restricted availability of one year to SCS members and immediate retirement.
The next Swarovski series were Masquerade (1999-2001) and Magic of Dance (2002-2004). The six years of human figurines (instead of animals) were not popular with the SCS members. Nor did it do any favors to the selling prices of the Swarovski crystal figurines following retirement. To date, Swarovski Masquerade remains the lowest selling Swarovski Annual Editions on the secondary market and online auctions.
When Swarovski returned to animals, they turned to a ‘sea’ theme: Wonders of the Sea (2005 -2007). Swarovski created a display, available in both a clear and a colored version. Then Swarovski allowed all annual editions in the trilogy to be available for purchase until the final annual edition retired. So effectively the first in the series was available for three years. While Swarovski SCS members were pleased with the decision to go back to the animals, they were not pleased with the extended purchase time of the ‘annual editions’ not so ‘annual’ any longer.
Swarovski introduced ‘Endangered Species’ (2008-2010) and reverted to the original distribution method, or so I thought. I always purchased mine at the beginning of the year, and never paid attention to the end of the year. This year (I don’t know why), I did pay attention. I was surprised to see that the Swarovski SCS Tiger 2010 was still available online in January, 2011. It was explained to me that Swarovski has had a one month grace period for those last minute new SCS members. OK. I guess Swarovski is catering to the procrastinators and avoid destroying the excess produced. But now, it is February and the SCS Tiger is still available for purchase on the Swarovski web site. It is no longer advertised as an ‘SCS 2010 Tiger’, but as the ‘Annual Edition 2010 Tiger’. Furthermore, I was able to purchase the item under a fictitious name and a fictitious address without an SCS member number and complete checkout process. The only reason I won’t be ending up with another annual edition tiger is because I entered an expired credit card number. I was shocked when the reality set it that ‘SCS 2010 Annual Edition Tiger’ is retired and it is now available for purchase at the Swarovski web site under the new name Swarovski ‘Annual Edition 2010 Tiger‘ by ANY Swarovski collector. Just how many years will Swarovski continue to produce it under the new name? So what is the point of being in the SCS now knowing this? Perhaps this is really no different than how the crystal brand sold the Swarovski Limited Edition Rhinoceros, Elephant, and Bull. they had multiple drawings of SCS winners and when the Swarovski Numbered Limited Editions never sold out to SCS members, Swarovski eventually allowed the general population to purchase from them from their web site. While I understand it’s all about making a profit, personally I am not real happy about purchasing what is advertised as an ‘exclusive’ item, then the manufacturer changing the rules of the game. It seems Swarovski may have ‘leftovers’ or another possible scenario is that Swarovski plans to continue production and marketing if there is significant interest from the Swarovski web site. Either way, the lack of exclusivity is a bum deal for SCS members.