Collections Within My Collection: Breyer's Crystal Pieces

My collection of Breyer crystal horses (formally called "Equestral Crystalworks by Breyer") was not one I expected to have. Too breakable, no color, just not something I was interested in. At least, I wasn't when the first one was released. 

That initial offering of Esprit at the 2010 World Equestrian Games must have been a success because three more crystals, Freedom, Charisma, and Passion, were released in 2012.

Another three more (Dynamic, Majestic, and Unbridled) were produced in 2013 but none of these were BreyerFest special runs or limited editions. It was Belle Mead who had the distinction of being the first BreyerFest special run in that same year. Only 250 of Belle Meade were produced.

Subsequent crystals have all been BreyerFest special runs and as time has gone by, the number produced rose annually until it peaked with Lorelei in 2022 with 2,200 made. Phaeton (2023) also had a run of 2,200, but the next two, Fortitude (2024), and Standing Ovation (2025), had runs of 1,750.

No numbers have been released for Skogafoss yet; I'm interested in seeing if the downward trend has continued.

It didn't take me long to get interested in these pretty pieces. When Passion was released in 2012, he caught my interest.

A Moody mold and on Huckleberry Bey, one of Kathleen's most popular sculpts, I decided to give Breyer's crystals a try. I liked the piece, but I did not buy another crystal until 2018. 

Home Straight, a BreyerFest special run, with 1,000 made.

A Bouncer fan, I had to get him when Breyer made him as a crystal piece.

Kelpie was a 2020 BreyerFest special run, but I cannot find a reference as to how many were produced.

I am not much of a Sherman Morgan mold fan, but the mold looks pretty in crystal.

Prisma, BreyerFest 2021, with a run of 2,000. Clearly the crystals were selling at BreyerFest as the number being produced was rising.

Proud Arabian Mare fans (count me as one) were thrilled when Lorelei was announced for BreyerFest 2022.

My guess is that Breyer anticipated that she would sell well, and produced 2,200 of her.

By this time, I was buying the crystal every BreyerFest, even if I wasn't fond of the mold that was used.

Phaeton on the Calliope mold is one of those molds but I still purchased him in 2023. Like Lorelei, 2,200 were made.

Perhaps Phaeton did not sell well. Even though Fortitude is the enormously popular Fighting Stallion mold,

Breyer reduced the number offered to 1,750 for BreyerFest 2024.

There was a new box design with a lighter blue color for the 2025 crystal piece.

Standing Ovation, another Moody sculpt, was offered at BreyerFest 2025. Like the previous year, 1,750 were made which makes me wonder if the numbers for Skogafoss will remain the same, too.

But there is something else that I am wondering - how long will it be before we see a crystal unicorn? As popular as they are and as many unicorns as Breyer has made for collectors, it almost seems a given that a crystal one will appear. Perhaps one is in the works already. A quick check of the Breyer Gallery models shows that we already have at least four porcelain unicorns, so why not a crystal?

A unicorn would sell well, but for me, it would be a pass. I have little to no interest in unicorns. But, I think the market is there and that Breyer is most likely aware of that.

Time will tell. And in the meantime, I am looking forward to adding Skogafoss to my crystal collection.

Barns, Blankets, & BreyerFest

The white work table by my desk is finally clear! Well, except for things I am sorting through for the Kalamazoo Living History Show. But the Stablemates are either packed away or on display at last.

All the carpet herd pieces and old customs have been carefully wrapped and put back in the box that had had the case of 70th Anniversary Stablemates.

Wanting to safely display the Indian Ponies led to all of this sorting,

and they, along with the filly Two Socks, are displayed on a shelf right behind my desk chair. I can just swivel to see!

I definitely wanted to display my Donovans, Vintage Club Stablemates, Fighting Stallions, key chains, and decorators.

I started with the Breyer Barn, and filled it with models that fit. Not all do. That barn is very limited in the pieces it can hold unless you start angling them (like you do with Breyer's Traditional shelf eaters.) But angling them also makes them more prone to tipping over, and I don't want to do that anymore - hence the Stablemate Racks I bought.

The longer models are all in the Stablemate Racks in front of the barn. I thought I would need to buy more of the holders, but I actually have a spare set. Having said that, the 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Brilliance Gift Set is due to arrive soon - that's four more to find places for.

Cut (the Donovan) will be put with his conga, but the other three are too long. Hmmmm. I'll need to decide if I want to use the extra rack or maybe even put them in the barn at angles after all. Stay 'tooned on that!

Speaking of new releases, the last BreyerFest model announced was indeed the crystal.

This is Standing Ovation on a miniaturized Moody American Saddlebred (which is celebrating its 25th year.)

It's a Limited Edition and available to all ticket holders. Standing Ovation is definitely on my list to buy!

Breyer wasn't done announcing models, though. The first Vintage Club piece dropped!

In a nod to Walter Farley, Chris Hess' sculpture The Black Stallion was used to create Inferno. Not only is a copy of Walter Farley's book The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt included,

but a red blanket that is "a fun throwback to some of Breyer's earliest forays into realistic tack." One of my "collections within a collection" is Breyer's blankets, and I am super excited about Inferno's blanket!

This blanket from my collection and shown on Stud Spider is the one that they are recreating. It also came in

blue, 

and red. (The red and blue blanket pictures are screenshots from Identify Your Breyer.)

A word of caution from a sewist who knows fabrics: If the blanket is NOT lined, put something under it or remove it from the model. Red can be an unstable color in fabrics and can transfer onto other things. It doesn't need to get wet to do so, either. 

2022 Vintage Club Cooper also came with tack - a red bareback pad. It was separately wrapped in plastic and it has stayed in the wrapper for the same reason.

Hopefully the blanket will come separately wrapped like Cooper's and not on the model. If that's the case, I'll leave it in its wrapper. But if it is on Inferno, even if it's lined, I'm taking it off. Red transfer is dismaying when it happens and I'm not chancing it. 

The Horsie Mama Horsey Super Bowl II is only eight days away! And the prizes have begun to arrive. Stay 'tooned!

Fortitude: The 2024 BreyerFest Crystal

I got my first BreyerFest 2024 model! Fortitude from the Second Chance Sale arrived!

I really like Breyer's crystal pieces. They only make one a year so the market isn't flooded with them, they are unique in that they are crystal, not plastic, china, or resin,  

and they come in really nice foam-filled boxes that protect them well from breakage.

This year's crystal horse is a vintage mold - the Fighting Stallion! 

Isn't he lovely?

The Breyer stamp is on his hind leg. 

I don't have all sixteen crystals that have been made; I only purchase the ones I really like.

Passion on the Huckleberry Bey mold was the first crystal Breyer produced.

I had two Home Straights but I sold my extra.

Originally the seal on the top of the box was gold. Breyer switched to silver in 2014. I think the silver looks nicer and is easier to read.

Fortitude is back in his protective box now and is stacked with the other boxes of crystals in my office closet. Some day I'd like to have a small, enclosed display cabinet dedicated to my crystal pieces. 

But Fortitude wasn't the only box from Breyer that arrived yesterday. I'll share that piece tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

What's in those Boxes?

Back in June, I decided to sort through several big boxes that had been stored in my closet for several years. I remembered several of the items that I had squirreled away, but much of what was in there was now a mystery. I was really happy I did - there were so many pieces I'd forgotten that I'd tucked away.

Like this small set of Breyer's crystal horses.

Passion was my first one.

I wasn't sure that I would buy more after him. He was fragile and he was expensive.

But he was also beautiful and the crystal pieces were coming in sturdy boxes and cocooned with foam.

 

And so every other year or so, I began buying them at BreyerFest.

I especially liked it when the year's offering was a vintage mold.

As I look at their pictures, I am wondering why no one shows them.

They come in their own protective box and are easy to transport.

It would be interesting to see how they would do in Collectibility.

Photo showing them might prove difficult

as they are difficult to photograph.

I packed these (carefully) back into the security of my closet for the time being.

I'd love to put them on display but I am out of room in my china cases and while I have some open shelving, I would not put them out unprotected.

Something to think about as I continue to go through boxes and tubs.

Stay 'tooned!