The imagery takes us straight back to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen" and to a crystallized world: rarefied, pure and transparent and radiating the cold, sharp light of Scandinavia. It's a vision that belongs to winter (surely the best season to indulge in a dream). This is the sidereal charm of crystals, faceted like diamonds and teamed with silver and platinum frames for a sophisticated, contemporary look. Christmas is the perfect time of year to stand out and shine bright.

At festive gatherings, everything from clothes to accessories should be sparkling, shimmering and luxurious. Out of the box. Bold. Like the latest offerings from Swarovski Eyewear, following on from the jewellery collections of this brand, which is synonymous with crystals - all of which are applied entirely by hand. The Millenia SK0385 (in the opening photo) is a model whose flowing, essential line is underscored and lit up by a sequence of varisized crystal chatons from the rims to the fork temples, releasing the lenses from the metal frame made lighter by a play of solids and voids. Who hasn't wanted to shine like a star at some time in their life? Constella SK0376, also by Swarovski Eyewear, makes your wishes for cosmic escape come true. The metal frame with gold-plated temples is bejewelled with brilliant-cut prong-set stones that seem to follow the mysterious trajectory of a constellation.

It would be hard not to think of these glasses as real jewels precisely because of the brilliant cut of the crystals, which are also a feature of the MissDior B1U model by Dior, dedicated to the sister of the great couturier. The new version of this model, with a polished palladium cat-eye frame, is embellished with crystals of various shapes paired with silver mirror lenses to amplify the luminous effect. This is a trend that juxtaposes romance with rebellion, as with the glasant model AM0390S by Alexander McQueen: sparkling skull earrings are embedded in the lenses and the bridge is fixed in place by two small crystals instead of screws. Remember the skull studded with real diamonds in "For the Love of God" by artist Damien Hirst? The provocative rock'n'roll spirit evoked by certain symbols: well, it never changes.

Talking of transgression, we cannot fail to mention Philipp Plein by De Rigo Vision, whose stylistic signature is all about excess, luxury and that rock'n'roll spirit. The front of the titanium-framed SPP030S model is richly studded with hexagonal-cut crystals, complete with a PP logo on the bridge. But if you were wondering whether this kind of eyewear is purely the preserve of women, think again. Here's the Le Boss 2.0 by Anna-Karin Karlsson, a model with large titanium frame, double bridge and part of the temple illuminated by Swarovski crystals. It is worth noting the particular care that this luxury Swedish brand dedicates to all details, such as the finely-chiseled rims. Romantic and feminine, the semi-rimless Half Moon, also by Anna-Karin Karlsson, plays on the fluidity of an unbroken line of sparkle connecting the lower part of the frame front to the bridge. Made from white gold-plated Japanese titanium, this model mounts Carl Zeiss lenses and has seductively curving temples decorated with varisized crystals. A fairytale accessory, just like "Snow Queen"...