Launched in 1999, the Swarovski EL was a breath of fresh air blowing through a birding world of black, similar-looking binoculars. Its startling shape, desirable specification, and attractive green colour, was enough to not only propel it to the number one slot in popularity amongst birders, but also to persuade me to trade-in my old Dialyt 10x40 BGA for one. In my opinion, it is as much an icon of design as a Leica M camera, Fender Stratocaster or Audi TT. My admiration for this model remains undimmed after all these years: it taught me a lot about what I need from binoculars.
In the 1990’s Swarovski was well known in hunting circles but Gerhard Swarovski wanted to penetrate the birding market. At the time, many people regarded Zeiss’s Dialyt 7x42 (with it’s Abbe-Koenig prisms) as the premier nature observation instrument, and it was a particular favourite of Gerhard Swarovski who wanted to make a binocular that would match, or better still, exceed the performance of the 7x42 in every way. So the Dialyt was the inspiration and the challenge. Take a look at the accompanying picture of the Dialyt and you will notice that it has two bridges although they are connected by an axle, thus denying one’s fingers access to the space between them.
So Swarovski began work on a birding binocular to challenge the world’s best, and in 1996 got together with several well-known and highly respected birders (Pete Dunne, Paul Lehman, Shawneen Finnegan and the late Claudia Wilds) for a brainstorming session in Newport, Rhode Island USA, to find out what leading birders really wanted from a pair of binoculars. Swarovski also sought input from David Cromack (editor of the UK’s ‘Bird Watching’ magazine) and Bruce Hanson (owner of the In Focus chain of UK optics stores) in order to assist their understanding of the birding market.
In the meantime, Gerold Dobler, an ornithologist and nature observer who has co-authored papers on raptors in Germany and enjoys overnighting in German forests to observe wild boars and beavers, had been working with the company as a consultant. He brought his birder’s and nature observer’s expertise, and technical knowledge to the EL project, and in 1997 joined Swarovski as the company’s first product development manager and it was his job to lead the team during the later stages of the EL programme.
At this point, Swarovski had a concept on the table that had no central axle but had the two bridges conventionally positioned and spaced as in the Dialyt, so they didn’t offer full access to the hand. One rendering of this is shown on the accompanying artwork by designer Werner Hölbl and dated September 1996. However Dobler was not in favour of this proposal because it gave insufficient hand space and suggested that the second bridge be located right down by the objectives, so that the customer would be able to get a really good grip on the binoculars.
The idea of widely separated bridges immediately met with stiff resistance as the concept seemed so strange, and Herr Hölbl said that this design would not even look like a binocular. Dobler was nevertheless convinced of the merits of his full open hinge concept and the secure grip that it offered and continued to argue strongly in its favour. But he couldn’t convince the rest of the team until one day Daniel Swarovski joined a development meeting and when the argument was again put forward that Dobler’s open-hinge proposal was too unconventional to be possible, Daniel said he couldn’t see any reason why it should not be done.
At this remark all of the arguments melted away and the team went on to develop the full open-hinge binoculars that we know of as the original EL, and it was launched in 1999.
Members of the team that worked on the project and gave us one of the most significant binoculars of recent decades included:
Gerold Dobler, Product Development Manager and leader of the team from 1997.
Konrad Seil who designed the superb optical train.
Werner Hölbl who created the sublime external styling.
Erwin Murg who worked on the challenging mechanical aspects.
My apologies to any other team members whose names I have been unable to discover.
As a ‘thank you’, Gerhard Swarovski presented Dobler with an EL marked with a serial number ending in 001, a fitting tribute to his rôle in the EL’s development, and he still has it.
The EL open-hinge concept, and the access to the optical tubes that it gave to the user’s hands, led to the marketing tag that Swarovski still employs to this day: ‘the EL Wrap-around Grip’ and it was so influential that it launched a new style of binoculars that has appeared in the product lines of many sports optics manufacturers since it’s introduction.
One thing is certain, Gerhard Swarovski’s decision to make a serious entry into the birding market was the beginning of the EL saga and without his determination and willingness to take risks the project would never have happened. Certainly the EL owed its success to many factors, especially the presence of a talented development team, without whom Swarovski’s vision, and Dobler’s inspiration, might not have been realised.
This account has been put together using a number of sources both internet and personal. It is my understanding of how the EL came to be born but I don’t believe for one moment that this is the definitive history of it’s genesis and would welcome input from others to correct errors and omissions which must surely be present.
Naturally I sent a draft of this history to Swarovski and asked them if they could add to it and they kindly sent me the following statement:
Troubador
In the 1990’s Swarovski was well known in hunting circles but Gerhard Swarovski wanted to penetrate the birding market. At the time, many people regarded Zeiss’s Dialyt 7x42 (with it’s Abbe-Koenig prisms) as the premier nature observation instrument, and it was a particular favourite of Gerhard Swarovski who wanted to make a binocular that would match, or better still, exceed the performance of the 7x42 in every way. So the Dialyt was the inspiration and the challenge. Take a look at the accompanying picture of the Dialyt and you will notice that it has two bridges although they are connected by an axle, thus denying one’s fingers access to the space between them.
So Swarovski began work on a birding binocular to challenge the world’s best, and in 1996 got together with several well-known and highly respected birders (Pete Dunne, Paul Lehman, Shawneen Finnegan and the late Claudia Wilds) for a brainstorming session in Newport, Rhode Island USA, to find out what leading birders really wanted from a pair of binoculars. Swarovski also sought input from David Cromack (editor of the UK’s ‘Bird Watching’ magazine) and Bruce Hanson (owner of the In Focus chain of UK optics stores) in order to assist their understanding of the birding market.
In the meantime, Gerold Dobler, an ornithologist and nature observer who has co-authored papers on raptors in Germany and enjoys overnighting in German forests to observe wild boars and beavers, had been working with the company as a consultant. He brought his birder’s and nature observer’s expertise, and technical knowledge to the EL project, and in 1997 joined Swarovski as the company’s first product development manager and it was his job to lead the team during the later stages of the EL programme.
At this point, Swarovski had a concept on the table that had no central axle but had the two bridges conventionally positioned and spaced as in the Dialyt, so they didn’t offer full access to the hand. One rendering of this is shown on the accompanying artwork by designer Werner Hölbl and dated September 1996. However Dobler was not in favour of this proposal because it gave insufficient hand space and suggested that the second bridge be located right down by the objectives, so that the customer would be able to get a really good grip on the binoculars.
The idea of widely separated bridges immediately met with stiff resistance as the concept seemed so strange, and Herr Hölbl said that this design would not even look like a binocular. Dobler was nevertheless convinced of the merits of his full open hinge concept and the secure grip that it offered and continued to argue strongly in its favour. But he couldn’t convince the rest of the team until one day Daniel Swarovski joined a development meeting and when the argument was again put forward that Dobler’s open-hinge proposal was too unconventional to be possible, Daniel said he couldn’t see any reason why it should not be done.
At this remark all of the arguments melted away and the team went on to develop the full open-hinge binoculars that we know of as the original EL, and it was launched in 1999.
Members of the team that worked on the project and gave us one of the most significant binoculars of recent decades included:
Gerold Dobler, Product Development Manager and leader of the team from 1997.
Konrad Seil who designed the superb optical train.
Werner Hölbl who created the sublime external styling.
Erwin Murg who worked on the challenging mechanical aspects.
My apologies to any other team members whose names I have been unable to discover.
As a ‘thank you’, Gerhard Swarovski presented Dobler with an EL marked with a serial number ending in 001, a fitting tribute to his rôle in the EL’s development, and he still has it.
The EL open-hinge concept, and the access to the optical tubes that it gave to the user’s hands, led to the marketing tag that Swarovski still employs to this day: ‘the EL Wrap-around Grip’ and it was so influential that it launched a new style of binoculars that has appeared in the product lines of many sports optics manufacturers since it’s introduction.
One thing is certain, Gerhard Swarovski’s decision to make a serious entry into the birding market was the beginning of the EL saga and without his determination and willingness to take risks the project would never have happened. Certainly the EL owed its success to many factors, especially the presence of a talented development team, without whom Swarovski’s vision, and Dobler’s inspiration, might not have been realised.
This account has been put together using a number of sources both internet and personal. It is my understanding of how the EL came to be born but I don’t believe for one moment that this is the definitive history of it’s genesis and would welcome input from others to correct errors and omissions which must surely be present.
Naturally I sent a draft of this history to Swarovski and asked them if they could add to it and they kindly sent me the following statement:
At Swarovski Optik, the courage of the team to develop superior products matters – and has always mattered, for every single product. This was also the way we worked on the EL and we are very proud of this fact. We are living a culture of innovation, openness and of team-spirit. Our experience is that only teams can develop outstanding products, and that success has many fathers. At the same time, we acknowledge every single team member’s contribute to a successful product like the EL. “Success has many fathers” does not only apply to the manpower involved in the development of the EL, but also to the many different features that complement one another and all together, as a perfectly balanced package, are responsible for the long-lasting success of the EL – outstanding optics, functionality, ergonomics, design and service.
Of course, there have been many people – internal and external contributors – that have contributed to the development of the EL. All this is to be tracked back to Gerhard Swarovski, CEO of Swarovski Optik from 1991 to 2004. He took the decision to enter the birding market, and convinced his team about this new activity. He was in the driving seat to start the development of different new products that were needed for birders, for example spotting scopes or a new binocular. If the EL has to be tracked back to one single person, it would certainly be Gerhard Swarovski. Without him, the whole activity of Swarovski Optik for birding would not have started – and there would have been no EL. SWAROVSKI OPTIK KG
Of course, there have been many people – internal and external contributors – that have contributed to the development of the EL. All this is to be tracked back to Gerhard Swarovski, CEO of Swarovski Optik from 1991 to 2004. He took the decision to enter the birding market, and convinced his team about this new activity. He was in the driving seat to start the development of different new products that were needed for birders, for example spotting scopes or a new binocular. If the EL has to be tracked back to one single person, it would certainly be Gerhard Swarovski. Without him, the whole activity of Swarovski Optik for birding would not have started – and there would have been no EL. SWAROVSKI OPTIK KG
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