Hello Swarovski Crystal Fans!

 

The Journey Begins!

My name is Christopher, and I've recently fallen in love with collecting Swarovski crystal Christmas ornaments. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday—I love the music, the glittering lights, and especially the decorating. I even have multiple Christmas trees in my house, much to my husband's amusement (or perhaps chagrin, but I don't let his "grinchy ways" dim my holiday spirit).

This past Christmas, 2024, I had the joy of setting up a new tree in our bedroom. Yes, you read that right—a tree in our bedroom! I'd spent the entire year planning it, and the theme was inspired by a single Swarovski Annual 2023 ornament my in-laws gave me. My husband joked with everyone about my plans, saying, "The theme is 'crystal iridescence'—sounds like a great drag queen name, doesn't it?" I suspect he was secretly excited, though he'd never admit it.

It turned out my in-laws had given me the mini version of the 2023 ornament. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there was a larger version! Of course, I immediately wanted it. Until then, I'd never even been in a Swarovski store or visited their website. I'd assumed they only released one ornament each year (a large and small version). My curiosity piqued, I started researching past annual ornaments, only to discover that finding a comprehensive archive was surprisingly difficult. I had no idea how long Swarovski had been producing ornaments.

After hours of online searching, I finally stumbled upon The Crystal Lodge (London). Their website has an extensive archive of Swarovski Magazine covers and crystal items, organized by year of introduction and retirement. I spent hours browsing, but the sheer number of past ornaments was overwhelming. Realizing I needed a focus, and knowing my husband would likely impose a budget on this new "addiction," I decided to concentrate solely on clear crystal ornaments, avoiding any colored pieces. This decision was inspired by my 2024 bedroom tree, which had a theme of timeless elegance and ice. Colored ornaments would have disrupted the aesthetic. (Seriously, have you seen the Star Wars TIE Fighter ornament? That black crystal is just…no.)

So, this is the beginning of what I hope will be many blog posts documenting my Swarovski collecting journey. My ADHD might have other plans, but I'm excited to share my progress. What ornaments am I after? I'm glad you asked! I've created an entire spreadsheet to track my desired pieces. I'm not obsessive, just organized!