SWAROVSKI
A GLOBAL FAMILY BUSINESSThe SWAROVSKI Group is a company run by the fifth generation of the family that focuses on sustainable business development. The SWAROVSKI Supervisory Board is the ultimate body responsible for controlling and supervising the Crystal, Optical devices, and Abrasives business areas.The Founding of SWAROVSKI OPTIKIn 1935, Wilhelm Swarovski, son of the original founder, was a mere 17 years of age. Already an avid hobby astronomer, Wilhelm’s passion “to be closer to the stars”, as he himself described it, awakened his ambition to build his own, improved binocular. With access to the specialized glass production and finishing technologies already used to manufacture jewelry stones in his father’s factory, Wilhelm managed to develop a novel prism fabrication and grinding process that he applied in constructing his first 6×30 binocular.Wilhelm went on to found SWAROVSKI OPTIK KG in Absam, Tyrol, in 1949 thus laying the foundation stone for a sport optics company with a global reputation. His company’s first serial product, the Habicht 7×42, is still an industry standard in the field of hunting optics and continues as ever to be produced by SWAROVSKI OPTIK in the best tradition of its founder.
Progress and Innovation From a Historical Point of ViewProgress through precision and technology is a philosophy ingrained in the Swarovski family’s genetic code, and their companies have remained true to this day to this shared principle and the values of the founders. After the legendary Habicht, SWAROVSKI OPTIK introduced its first rifle scope in 1959, its initial extendable spotting scope in 1967 and, in 1971, the world’s first rubber-armored binocular.In 1976, another worldwide premiere saw the launch of a rifle scope equipped with a proprietary shock absorber for preventing recoil injuries to the eye. In 1994 SWAROVSKI OPTIK introduced the first telescope. And, in 1999, the SWAROVSKI OPTIK EL binocular with the world’s first wrap-around grip captured Field and Stream Magazine’s Best of the Best Award, making it the development of the decade. Since 2007, the Z6 rifle scope range with the first 6x zoom has received international acclaim among the world’s hunting fraternity. In all, over 30 national and international awards pay tribute to the company’s innovative strength, the superior precision and uncompromising quality and also to the elegance and the innovative design that go into the SWAROVSKI OPTIK brand.
