The Digital Crystal: Swarovski at the Design Museum

It is a well known fact that diamonds are a girls best friend…but crystals would equally make loyal companions. Swarovski is one of the biggest household names for crystal cut jewellery, and it is a known fact that their collections are as stunning and original as the name itself. 1862 marked the birth of Daniel Swarovski, a man who grew to become a talented glass cutter who endeavoured to immerse himself in the crystal and costume jewellery industry that flourished in his home town of Bohemia. His aptitude for beauty, invention and refinement created the Swarovski crystal which has grown to become a name we all know, love and wear today.

Since the 20th century, Swarovski crystals have become a prestigious ingredient in the heady world of high fashion. Owing to the companies success in the fashion industry, Swarovski’s expansion has enabled them to extend their branches and reach out to a range of other creative opportunities. Teaming with design and architecture commissions, Swarovski have ‘served as an experimental platform for leading figures in design to conceptualise, develop and share their most radical ideas’, and it this ethos which has brought the dazzling Digital Crystal: Swarovski at the Design Museum exhibition to London.

The exhibition room is lit up by the refracting beams of light that ooze from the crystal chandeliers and sculptures. The centre piece of the exhibition, and by far my favourite of them all, is Pandora by Fredrikson Stallard. Hanging elegantly from the ceiling, Pandora recreates the familiar form of a chandelier. Made up from 2000 suspended Swarovski crystals, the Pandora piece creates its own light by relying on the natural physics of a crystal.

Creative Director Nadja Swarovski explains ‘Swarovski’s passionate commitment to cutting-edge contemporary design and innovation is driven by our work with these visionaries who push the boundaries of how crystal can be used as a creative ingredient.’

Having seen the exhibition, I can’t agree more. The Digital Crystal: Swarovski at the Design Museum exhibition truly illustrates the different functions of a crystal, their ability to capture light and above all, their abstract beauty. Essentially, it can be said that crystals are an artist’s best friend.

Marni Banks