Clear based Woodpeckers

We were recently asked by a collector if we could explain why there are 2 different versions of the 1988 annual edition Woodpeckers. But, before we deal with the topic of the base of the piece, there is another difference exclusive (so far) to this annual edition.

During 1988 (the year that the Woodpeckers were the Swarovski annual edition piece), Swarovski changed their logo from the Edelweiss flower motif to the more well-known Swan logo. This means that the frosted base Woodpeckers can be found with either the SCS edelweiss logo or the SCS swan, and of course, the packaging and mirror can also be found in either format. To be an authentic set, everything should match.

As we alluded to earlier, this is not the end of the story because there was a design variation as well. The more common version of the Swarovski Woodpeckers has a frosted base to the tree trunk that the mother and baby Woodpeckers are sitting on. However, the first version of the piece had a clear base (similar to the top of the tree trunk on the piece).

We have to assume that originally the Woodpecker trunk bases were polished after they had been treated to make them frosted. After a while, it is believed that the practice was questioned – after all, why bother to spend time polishing the bases if no-one would ever see them as it made no difference to the overall look of the piece when on display? So it appears that the practice ceased. This probably occurred quite early on, while the edelweiss logo was still being applied, as so far, we have not seen a swan logo on a clear based set of woodpeckers. This makes the clear based set of Woodpeckers a very rare piece!