Each year, a new Norway spruce is specially hand-picked to stand at the heart of Rockefeller Center, ultimately becoming one of the most photographed Christmas trees in the world. While the tree itself changes annually, one constant crowns it from above: the dazzling Swarovski Star — a 900-pound, crystal-studded masterpiece that once again tops the 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a beloved symbol of the holiday season in New York City.
The monumental ornament spans more than nine feet in diameter and glistens with over 3 million precisely cut crystals. Designed in 2018 by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the three-dimensional star features 70 radiant spikes, each illuminated from within to amplify the crystal’s refractive brilliance.
Libeskind originally described the Star as a modern symbol of hope, unity, and peace — an interpretation that continues to resonate as it shines nightly above Rockefeller Plaza. The design replaced an earlier Swarovski star introduced in 2004 that weighed 550 pounds and featured just 25,000 crystals, underscoring how dramatically the scale and ambition of the current topper have evolved.
Installed in mid-November, the 75-foot-tall spruce traveled roughly 150 miles from East Greenbush in Upstate New York to Midtown Manhattan. Donated by the Russ family, who had cared for the tree on their property for more than 60 years, this year’s spruce carries a deeply personal story. Judy Russ has said the family offered the tree in memory of her late husband.
"As my husband has passed away, I know he would have loved to have been here for this moment," Judy Russ told NBC correspondent Joe Fryer on TODAY. "We always talked about it being the (Rockefeller Center) tree. It's so special that my family’s tree gets to be America's, if not the world’s, Christmas tree.”
Placing the Swarovski Star on top of such a majestic tree is no small feat. Each year, a specialized crew hoists the massive ornament by crane, delicately positioning it nearly eight stories into the air. Once secured, the Star completes a dazzling display that includes more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights woven throughout the tree using nearly five miles of wire.
The tree officially lit up Manhattan during the nationally televised Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 3, marking the ceremonial start of the city’s holiday season. The tree and its Swarovski Star will remain illuminated nightly through mid-January 2026, welcoming millions of visitors from around the globe.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition dates back to 1931, when Depression-era construction workers erected a modest tree adorned with handmade garlands. The first official lighting ceremony followed in 1933, and since 1951, the event has been broadcast nationwide, transforming a simple spruce into a global holiday icon.
When the season concludes, the story doesn’t end. Since 2007, Rockefeller Center has donated the tree’s lumber to Habitat for Humanity, where it is milled and repurposed into building materials for homes across the country — a fitting final chapter for a symbol rooted in generosity and renewal.
Credits: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree photo by Anthony Quintano from Mount Laurel, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Nadja Swarovski and Daniel Libeskind with the Swarovski Star in 2018 by Bryan Bedder Getty for Swarovski (PRNewsfoto/Swarovski). Screen capture of Swarovski Star via YouTube.com/Swarovski.