The birth of Crystal Valley

The first glass furnace was lit in Bohemia in 1376 and in the 1550’s a glass industry was gradually established in the north of the country.

The northern regions of Bohemia were rich in quartz deposits and the region’s deep pine forests, offered an affordable supply of wood for heating the large furnaces required to melt glass. These basic assets helped to establish a tradition of Bohemian crystal glass and glass costume jewelry that gained world-wide recognition. Thus Crystal Valley was born.

In 1715 Bohemian glassmakers discovered the art of melting coloured glass, which opened up new horizons. Glass artisans soon pioneered a technique for replicating the look of precious and semi-precious stones, producing cut-glass crystals that resembled diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

Bohemian crystal jewelry travels to Versailles, the Ottoman Empire and Russian court

Word of their craftsmanship spread quickly and soon Bohemian glassmakers were commissioned to make exclusive pieces for the palaces of Louis XV in Versailles and Fontainebleau, the court of Turkish Sultan Osman III and Russian Empress Yelisaveta (Elizabeth).

Machines replace manual cutting

Glass cutting in the Jablonec region developed further at the turn of the 19th century with machines gradually replacing manual cutting. The industry boomed and a number of smaller firms sprang up specializing in cut glass stones, pearls, chandeliers and lighting.

Bohemia soon became a world leader in the field of glass making. Bohemia crystal and crystal glass costume jewelry become the region’s trademark products.

In 1948 the seven main crystal glass factories and 18 small firms in northern Bohemia merged, forming the Preciosa Group with daughter companies specializing in chandeliers, glass figurines and costume jewelry. These products are among the country’s leading export articles to this day.

Nacre pearls and seed beads

Today Preciosa Ornela is one of the leading producers of glass and seed beads in the world, manufacturing a staggering 3.5 million kilograms annually, along with over 255,000 types of beads. Petr Puš is head of the company employing over 800 people.

“Preciosa Ornela is part of the Preciosa group which is the biggest crystal glass producer in Europe. We make a variety of glass products but the mainstay of our production is crystal pearls and glass beads of all colours, shapes and sizes. There is a huge demand for our beads among Indian and other tribes in North and South America, among tribes in Africa who use them to decorate their vestments and various typical products or the Peranacan people in Singapore who have used them for the past 200 to 300 years.”

In addition to working with glass beads, Bohemian artisans also pioneered a technique for replicating the look of pearls. The so-called Nacre Pearls are a superb imitation of natural or cultivated pearls. Nacre Pearls have a high gloss which - to the naked eye - makes them indistinguishable from genuine pearls. They are also highly resistant to abrasion, UV radiation, and to alcohol-based perfumes.

The crystal pearls and top quality replicas of precious stones serve to make exclusive design pieces with filigreed settings and stones blazing in emerald green, sapphire blue, amethyst purple and ruby red. Hollywood film studios frequently commission exclusive pieces for their historic productions as do European film makers.

However, the major share of Preciosa Ornela’s production is sold as single beads in huge numbers to be used in traditional arts and crafts or clothes making the world over. Petr Puš says that the demand for the company’s products is so great that customers often wait for up to two years for their orders.

“Our biggest market is India, without any doubt, we are still selling to Ukraine even now, also to Africa, South Africa is a huge market, and the Arab world in general. Egypt and Turkey make huge commissions for workshops, which use our products daily to decorate a huge variety of traditional products for domestic use and to sell to tourists.“

Preciosa chandeliers

Preciosa chandeliers grace palaces, luxury hotels and private residences the world over. Award-winning Czech designer and sculptor Rony Plesl who is one of the company’s bright lights, explains in what way they are different from the competition.

“What is special is not just the tradition of chandeliers but of crystal glass making in general. Bohemia crystal is unique in that you work with engraving to get the refraction of light you want whilst in Venice they work more with chipped glass, there is a lot of fine-tuning in colour and detail. Czech glass is more like working on a sculpture where you use cutting, engraving and light to get the result you want. And it is the same with chandeliers."

Prepared by the team from the foreign office CzechTrade Egypt.
Source: Radio Prague International, https://english.radio.cz/preciosa-bohemia-crystal-glass-products-sold-world-over-8767142
Author: Daniela Lazarová