June 5, 2014: Swarovski recently presented the unique, limited edition Tiuterra Crystal, which is the outcome of a groundbreaking collaboration with the Austrian Space Forum.
Named after the old English word for Mars and Earth, the Tiuterra Crystal marked the UN Space Week 2013 which had the theme of ‘Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth’. This special limited edition of one hundred numbered pieces symbolizes the union of our world with the Red Planet.
The Tiuterra Crystal represents a technological first: a composite of the Mars meteorite found in Morocco and 33 rock samples collected by individuals and institutions from as far afield as China, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, and even Antarctica, it is fused with Swarovski crystal using a completely revolutionary technique. This is the first time material from outer space, together with natural rock, has ever been merged with crystal.
The crystals were unveiled to the public in April 2014, during the Yuri‘s Night celebration in Vienna, the annual event commemorating the first space flight. Leaders and opinion-formers affiliated with the top ten space agencies received Tiuterra Crystals, including European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Scheduled to be part of Expedition 42/43 (fictionalised in the film, Gravity) aboard the International Space Station in November 2014, she will take her Tiuterra crystal with her, reuniting the Mars meteorite with space.
