The New Swarovski Spring/Summer 2011 Release, Part 1

While we were in Tucson, right after teaching our super-fun Swarovski Make & Take classes, we were blindfolded, spun around three times, and taken into a secret room at the Swarovski headquarters.  There we were shown, under solemn vows of secrecy, the next release of Swarovski Innovations.   These new colors, finishes, and cuts will come out in Spring and Summer of 2011.

At last, we can reveal to you what we saw.   Today, we will discuss the new colors and finishes - in our next blog, we will show you the wonderful new cuts, or as Swarovski calls them, 'items' that will be coming out.

With the new additions to their color palette, Swarovski is definitely still counting on the trend for everything metallic, while also nodding to the continuing craze for vintage looking jewelry, and even incorporating the ongoing trend for nature imagery and 'green' materials. They also seem to be reaching out to designers who want the look of genuine stone, with the reliability of manufactured crystal.  

Probably the most significant new finish in the lineup, the new Bronze shade, manages to simultaneously fit right into the current trend embracing mixed metallics, and the craze for vintage brass stampings.   So whether you're bending some filigree right now, or coming up with a sleek modern futurist design, this color should be right up your alley.


Swarovski's delicate new pale green color,  Chrysolite Opal, will fit right into many nature-inspired designs.  It's the color of fresh leaves, and shimmering insect wings.   It's opal translucency will also remind many people of chalcedony, a natural mineral.  



Continuing with the trend of making manufactured crystals look like natural stone, Swarovski has introduced two "blend" colors, Amethyst Blend and Topaz Blend.   These combine a dark color with clear crystal, with natural-looking fading between the two.  Furthermore, no two beads or pendants will have exactly the same proportion of color vs. crystal nor will they have the two shades in exactly the same places on the bead.  


Thus,  no two beads will be alike. While this could be frustrating for those who rely on crystals for absolute consistency, it raises new possibilities for designers who want a natural 'gemstone' look, but are frustrated when it comes to getting precise cuts or large quantities. 



With every new Innovations release, Swarovski introduces a new pearl color.  This time, it's Vintage Gold Pearl.  Again, this is another good color for the vintage jewelry craze.

But wait, isn't this the third gold pearl color Swarovski has put out?  Maybe they're discontinuing one of the other gold shades?  We don't know.

Swarovski, meanwhile, has this to say about the new pearl color:  "It expresses a particularly strong trend towards softer, natural and more vintage-inspired pearl colors. It responds to the current and extremely strong design mood for pearl inclusion on accessories, fashion items and most importantly, in jewelry."

If you say so, Swarovski, if you say so!

Next blog:  New Swarovski Innovations Styles!