Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

When I saw the following five ads for Swarovski crystals, I thought of a hundred twinkling stars.  

The first one is a double-sided ad featuring the crystals before they are made into jewellery.  The reverse side of the page are the magical results of arranging them into something beautiful!

 Swarovski Crystals

French Vogue

May 1961

Etsy Listing # 73621301 

 French Vogue

May 1961

Etsy Listing # 73621367

 French Vogue 

May 1961

Etsy Listing # 73622125

 French Vogue

September 1961

Etsy Listing # 73622444

 French Vogue

September 1961

Etsy Listing # 73622499

Daniel Swarovski (October 24, 1862 – January 23, 1956), formerly Daniel Swartz, was born in northern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). His father was a glass cutter who owned a small glass factory. It was there that a young Swarovski served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.

In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosmann, Daniel Swartz & Co, which was later shortened to K.S. & Co.  Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes Daniel Swarovski patented. The company established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes Daniel Swarovski patented.

To create crystal glass that lets light refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its products with special metallic chemical coatings. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow appearance. Other coatings are named by the company, Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, and Dorado. Coatings may be applied to only part of an object; others are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X etc.

Whatever they're called, the result is absolutely amazing!



 

French Chic 1960s Style

This will be a short little post today as I am up to my ears in a couple hundred French Vogue ads from the early 1960s.  Lots of scanning and getting ready for TOMORROW when I actually get to start listing them in the shop.  Here's one of my favorites from the group to give you a little tease of what's coming in the next few days.

 Rose Marie Reid Yellow Swimsuit 

Striped Beach Jacket

French Vogue May 1961
Etsy Listing # 73543852 

If you'd like to know more about Rose Marie Reid, there's a great biography and company history by April Ainsworth at Vintage Vixen.

I seem to be continuing my "happiness" theme from the past couple of days because this yellow swimsuit and multicolored striped beach jacket really makes me smile!  We're just starting into winter now here in Australia so it's an especially bright spot in my day.