Tuesday, February 08, 2005

From Crystal to Stamp

Yes, it's the first ever postage stamp with real crystals. This is a product of a collaboration between the Austrian Post and Swarovski, the world's well-known crystal manufacturer. In fact, this crystal postage stamp has been released since September 2004 and could only be obtained from the Austrian post offices and the Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens, Austria. I had tried to find a way to buy this stamp (from outside Austria) since the first day of release but was not successful. I don't know why I didn't realize the advantage of the Internet sooner. Anyway, fortunately, last month I found a link leaded to the Austrian Post web page, which allowed me to order this stamp (as well as other Austrian stamps) online. Finally, last week, my long-awaited crystal postage stamps arrived safely by an airmail in a well-secured package. As a philatelist and a crystal collector myself, this item is definitely a must-have for my collection. I guess any other stamp collectors as well as crystal collectors worldwide would agree with me.




Specification

Release Date: 20 September 2004
Number of Copies: 500,000
Type: Block (of 2) issue
Value (in EUR): 2 × 3.75 €
Printing Style: Photogravure
Design: Renate Gruber