Swarovski Takes Center Stage at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards(R)

LOS ANGELES, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Swarovski, the world leader in cut crystal, will once again shine center stage at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 7th.  

Internationally acclaimed architect and designer David Rockwell has been tapped for the second consecutive year to reinvent the set for the Oscar® telecast. Once again, Rockwell worked with Swarovski to bring his sketches to life, creating a custom designed Swarovski crystal curtain and crystal swing that promise to add sparkle to the set of the Kodak Theatre.

Incorporating more than 100,000 Swarovski crystals in a variety of shapes and sizes flown in from Austria, the main curtain outlining the stage's grand arch will measure close to 60 feet tall and 100 feet wide and will include accents of gold and clear crystal.  Comprised of over 6,000 one-meter hand-crafted crystal strands, and weighing in at an incredible 3 tons, the shimmering Swarovski crystal curtain will make a spectacular statement this year on stage. In addition to the crystal proscenium curtain, Rockwell has added more dazzle this year with side curtains flanking the stage and a large crystal swing using over 3,000 crystals.

Nadja Swarovski, Vice President of International Communications for Swarovski, and great-great-grand-daughter of company founder Daniel Swarovski, says, "It is a very great honor to be collaborating with David Rockwell again. David is a true visionary and a unique talent in his field. His proven regard for creative partnerships as being essential within the design world is very much in tune with Swarovski's own commitment to supporting invigorating, innovative collaborations with fresh and distinctive design talents."

David Rockwell says, "We have worked with Swarovski on many different projects, and using their crystals for various events, products and spaces. I thought it was essential to keep the Swarovski crystal curtain in our design for the Oscars® this year. It perfectly reflects the glamour and brilliance of this special event, and this year will be even more dramatic!"

In addition to the dazzling Oscar set, Swarovski will also sparkle on the costumes throughout the show, created by costume designer Rita Ryack with over 30,000 Swarovski crystals.

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In 1895, Daniel Swarovski I, a Bohemian inventor and visionary, moved to the village of Wattens, Tyrol in Austria, with his newly-invented machine for cutting and polishing crystal jewellery stones. From this beginning that revolutionised the fashion world, Swarovski has grown to be the world's leading producer of precision-cut crystal, for fashion, jewellery and more recently lighting, architecture and interiors. Today, the company, still based in Wattens, family-owned and run by 4th and 5th generation family members, has a global reach, with some 26,000 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a turnover in 2008 of 2.52 billion Euros. Swarovski comprises two major businesses, one producing and selling loose elements to the industry and the other creating design-driven finished products. Swarovski crystal components, known by their product brand names CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements for fashion and STRASS® Swarovski® Crystal for architecture and light, have become an essential ingredient of international design. Since 1965 the company has also catered to the fine jewellery industry with precision-cut genuine and created gemstones, and from April 2008 has strengthened this relationship by revitalising and renaming the product brand ENLIGHTENED™ - Swarovski Elements.  Showing the creativity that lies at the heart of the company, Swarovski's own-brand lines of accessories, jewellery and home decor are sold through more than 1,600 retail outlets in all major fashion capitals. The exclusive Daniel Swarovski accessories collection has meanwhile become the company's couture signature. The Swarovski Crystal Society has close to 350,000 members worldwide, keen collectors of the celebrated crystal figurines. And in Wattens, Swarovski Kristallwelten, the multi-media crystal museum, was opened in 1995, as a celebration of Swarovski's universe of innovation and inspiration. The Swarovski corporation also includes Tyrolit®, manufacturing grinding tools, Swareflex, for road safety reflectors and Swarovski Optik, producing precision optical instruments.

SOURCE Swarovski