The first Saturday in October was also a celebration of the glassmaker’s craft in Desná v Jizerských horách.
About 900 curious visitors from this country and abroad came to the Desná facility to learn everything they could about unique Czech seed beads. And much more besides …
It was wonderful to observe how the seed bead making process still fascinates people and evokes curious questions from young and old alike. They saw with their very eyes the kind of alchemy that is involved. Supposedly ordinary sand is melted into hot molten glass to form rods and eventually gives rise to small glass seed beads in various shapes, sizes and colours that each of the visitors were able to roll around the palms of their hands at the end of the tour.
Other parts of Preciosa Ornela also opened their doors. The old glassworks and cutting room showed visitors the demanding manual production of decorative items. On the other hand, the new glassworks presented the mechanised production of premium LIBA 2000+ optical glass in the form of glass rods which are then further processed, either for the automotive industry or for the costume jewellery industry.
At the end of the tour, everybody was able to look around the newly opened Glass Shop, which offers a selection of Preciosa Ornela products ranging from artistic crystalware, whose design dates back to the period of the First Republic, through to the latest types of decorative glass. The shop also offers coloured seed beads in hobby packaging which are sold to customers all over the world under the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads™ brand. The ladies were also able to enjoy the jewellery or small pieces of costume jewellery.
We would like to thank all our employees who patiently guided our visitors, as well as our colleagues on the shift.
