The star arrived at Rockefeller Center on Nov. 16. courtesy: swarovski. photo: diane bondareff/insider images.
Next week, on Wednesday, November 30th, the 74-foot Norway Spruce in Rockefeller Center in New York City will be lit, signaling the beginning of the holiday season. For the eighth year in a row, it will be crowned by a massive crystal star from Swaroski, complete with 25,000 crystals and 1,000,000 twinkling facets.
The star is 9 1/2 feet in diameter and 1 1/2 feet wide. courtesy: swarovski. photo: diane bondareff/insider images.
Unveiled on November 16, the Swarovski star is held together with 3,000 feet of wire hidden inside its twelve rays, each of which is made of the same shatter-proof glass used in many skyscrapers. It was designed by Michael Hammers in 2004, whom Swarovski commissioned to replace a gold leaf-covered fiberglass star, and has undergone minor modifications each year. In 2009, nine artists and engineers, including Hammers, updated the star, introducing a computerized lighting system to control 720 newly installed LED bulbs. In a 2009 article in The New York Times, Hammers likened the glow of the LED lights to breathing and cited comets as inspiration.
Thousands of attendees and millions of viewers are expected to watch the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan on November 30. The tree will remain lit every day until January 7, 2012, from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and all day on Christmas.
—Grace Duggan