Do we like them?

Do we like Swarovski?

Austrian maker of cut crystal, jewellery and accessories, based in Wattens, Austria.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A long-running family firm that has professionalised its governance and reports on sustainability. Our searches found no big scandals, but also little independent checking. A cautious yes.

Swarovski is the crystal company from Wattens in Austria, and the founding family still owns it. A 2005 New York Times quote cited by JCK put the owners at 56 family members.

There was some boardroom drama. Robert Buchbauer, a descendant of the founder, became CEO in April 2020 and quit about 18 months later. Reports described family disputes in that period.

After that the company changed how it is run. It put the family interests into a holding company and added five non-family board members alongside three family members. In 2022 it named Alexis Nasard as its first outside CEO in 127 years.

On the green side, Swarovski publishes sustainability reports. The 2025 one lines up with EU reporting rules. A third-party summary of it mentions a 14% emissions cut. These are the company's own numbers, and we found no fines or court cases, so we score it a cautious 6.