Crystal is a relatively new material to the automotive industry and design teams looking to bring it in require an experienced partner
Wattens is Swarovski town. Nestled in between a series of intersecting valleys in Tyrol, Austria, it owes its existence to industrialist Daniel Swarovski who, in 1895, sited his crystal-cutting factory there to harness hydroelectric power from the Wattenbach river.
Over a century later, Swarovski is still there and is still cutting crystals on site, though the machinery is far more sophisticated than the founder would have used. The business has expanded, too. Best known for its jewellery and high-profile collaborations with fashion brands like Nike and Louis Vuitton, a decade ago it launched Swarovski Mobility.
Swarovski Mobility can take a rough sketch all the way through to production
To automotive designers in the know, Swarovski Mobility is a well-understood and valued creative partner owing to its collaborative creative process, unmatched specialised knowledge and accomplished execution. Testament to this comes in the sophisticated form of the Mercedes-Benz S-class headlights and the well-received BWW collaboration, which helped define the front face of the i7. However, Swarovski Mobility’s experience stretches into the car interior – the team displayed a sparklingly precise switchgear concept at the Salone del Mobile in Milan earlier this year – introducing itself to a wider audience.
Building awareness of what the team at Wattens brings to the table is the current mission for the business. Being a household name around the world means there are a lot of preconceived ideas they are about. Far from being merely a decorative material, Swarovski Mobility is about infusing pure function into those precise crystals, bringing pragmatic value as well as an elevated luxury experience.
Swarovski Mobility infuses pure function into precisely designed crystals, bringing pragmatic value as well as an elevated luxury experience
Those OEMs who want to partner with Swarovski Mobility are invited to attend design workshops at the studio to explore the unique opportunities presented by crystal.
“Crystal is a relatively new material to the industry, which means working with it requires a certain understanding of how to handle it and what can be done with it. As a partner, we like to share this knowledge,” explains Peter Widmann, managing director of Swarovski Mobility. “We are not going to sell you something from the catalogue. We believe if we bring creative people together, something beautiful will happen.” This could involve a designer coming with an idea, a sketch, a render and working with the creatives and scientists to discover what might be possible.
Much of the design work happens in the digital space with SW able to create very precise and realistic renderings. For example, the team has its own in-house lighting engineers who can demonstrate with unerring accuracy how the material will react to light.
Thanks to Manufaktur, Swarovski Mobility’s prototyping factory, the business can create samples quickly and at short notice. Every crystal produced for the automotive sector is a bespoke product developed specifically and only for the concept intended. Science and magic is how Widmann refers to the process.
Luxury is about story-telling. And we, as a brand, have a lot to say
This artfully scientific approach is only possible thanks to the depth of savoir-faire accrued over years of working with the material, which has been applied in rigorous fashion to the automotive industry. To that end, Swarovski Mobility is one of the few suppliers which is IATF-certified and one of the largest investment areas for the business is innovation. The business likes to partner with like-minded automotive operators.
At CES 2024, Swarovski Mobility unveiled a display concept developed with Continental that saw the functional touchscreen housed in a stunning crystal case. The combination of technological innovation with a compelling luxury aesthetic neatly distils Swarovski Mobility’s creative and strategic direction.
An overlooked aspect of crystal is its durability – the material will not degrade – but undoubtedly the haptic and aesthetic speaks to a higher level of luxury. In tandem with face-to-face feedback from designers visiting Wattens, the business launched a substantial survey to determine what value was placed on the brand in the context of the automotive industry. The results made for heartening reading confirming high consumer interest and willingness to pay more for Swarovski branded specs.
Brand strength is a given with Swarovski. Few other businesses are so closely associated with the raw material they work with. “Crystal and Swarovski are synonymous,” Widmann says. Undeniably, the Swarovski story owes its longevity to a focus as exacting as the laser cutting machines that keep them at the cutting-edge of their trade. This goes hand-in-glove with a deep appreciation of its own history, which combines sustainability with creativity and innovation. “Luxury is about story-telling, and we as a brand have a lot to say.”
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