It all started with a mouse …

Hard to believe, the crystal figurines we know and love started production back in 1976! For those of you, who don’t know the story, here is an abridged version:

By 1976 Swarovski’s business expanded from that of a cutting, manufacturing, and jewellery production facility to a business committed to silver crystal as an end product for figurines and collectibles. All apparently due to four crystal chandelier parts being glued together just for fun, creating the first member of Swarovski’s full cut crystal animal menagerie: the mouse. This mouse was designed by the late, great Max Schreck and the Swarovski Silver Crystal range that we know and love was born! Jet (black) stones were added for the eyes and nose, metal whiskers painstakingly cut to size and added, and finally the leather tail was carefully cut by hand. It is believed that 1,000 of these mice were made (which still had holes in the ear stones due to their original purpose, ie being chandelier parts). They were sold to Swarovski employees and were a huge hit. The mouse that went into full production was slightly different, having the more familiar metal spring tail, the ears were smaller and they didn’t have the holes in them as they were specially produced stones rather than chandelier parts!

Swarovski can rightly say, as per Disney, that “it all started with a mouse”!