HISTORY OF BOHEMIAN GARNET JEWELLERY


Bohemian garnet, the finding places of which are located in Bohemia only has always maintained a unique position due to its nice, fiery red colour and the light refraction. Moreover it enjoys curative effects. As it has come down since the time of the Emperor Rudolf II, the admirer of Bohemian garnets who had many uniques in his collection, Bohemian garnet has been helping to overcome the sorrow and bringing the vital power, spirit and the feeling of joy. In the course of time Bohemian garnet and the jewellery using Bohemian garnets has become more and more popular not only in the country of origin but also across the frontier of Bohemia.

The Bohemian garnet jewells from Turnov are known to have adorned the dresses of russian tsarinas at the Vienna congress after the Napoleon fall in 1815. During the ninetieth of the last century the appearance of the Bohemian garnet jewellery has reached the characteristic designs in which garnets dominate over the metal. This characteristic feature of garnet jewels has main tained its position till the present time. Since 1953 Granat art cooperative locataed at Turnov, the town of gems and the nature beauties has been continuing in the manufacturing of real bohemian jewels and the spreading their publicity abroad.


At present the sample range of garnet jewellery includes 3,500 designs produced according to the customers' requirements in sterling silver, gold plated silver,14 kt and 18 kt gold. New designs which represent the highly skilled workmanship of the stone cutters and the goldsmiths are added to the line every season. You can see the samples of Bohemian garnet jewellery from Granat art cooperative on the displays of renowned fine jewellery shops not only in Europe but all over the world.



PROFILE OF FIRM

Granát, the co-operative of art production in Turnov, was formed by the integration of tiny craftsmen working in the fields of gem grinding and garnet jewel producing in 1953. Since it has been the successor of the long-term tradition of jewel production and gem grinding in the Czech lands, which was originated in the 14th century.
In 1992, the co-operative was transformed to the co-operative of owners. Nowadays, its production has been ensured by approximately 500 employees. Since 2000, the co-operative has been the only owner and operator of the mines, where Bohemian garnets are extracted.

Residence in Turnov:

The core programme of the art production co-operative (DUV) Granát is the traditional production of jewels with the prevailing natural Czech stone – Bohemian garnet. This precious stone is the most typical Czech stone. It is characterized with dark red, fiery sparkling colour. It is greatly fire resistant as it can bear up to 1600°C without any damage. In the Czech lands, Bohemian garnet has been attributed with the magic power over human vitality and intelligence since the 14th century. The tradition says it casts out sorrow from human hearts and makes its owner a merry and kind person. People also believe it supports health.

We might remember that jewels with Bohemian garnets beautified members of royal families – queen Elisabeth had a girdle decorated with garnets, king Přemysl Otakar II had a golden cross with garnet decorations and czarina Katherine II had a whole set. Nowadays, pope John Paul II has a cross with garnets while the British and Belgium queens have garnet jewels. Coronation jewels of emperor Charles the IV are in proprietorship of Mr. president of Czech republic - Vaclav Havel.

Prizes manufactured by DUV Granát are used for the decoration of Managers of the Year, Businesswomen of the Year and Cyclists of the Year. We also produce Bohemian nightingales - awards for the winning pop singers in the Czech Republic. The company Granát was awarded with numerous acknowledgements for its production, i.e. in the Word Exhibitions EXPO Brussels 1958, Montreal 1967 and GRAND PRIX Osaca.

In the offer of the co-operative Granát, you can find a very wide range of gold and silver jewels, mainly completed with natural or synthetic stones. The co-operative cuts the stones in own grinding premises, where our experienced grinders can grind the most expensive natural stones including diamonds. Our collection also includes truly exclusive jewels combining Bohemian garnets with diamonds, emeralds or aquamarines. The co-operative also produces unique gifts – miniature copies of coronation jewels, Myslbek´s statue of St. Wenceslas, Sun clocks or glass paperweights with embedded garnets. The art production co-operative Granát is also an important exporter of jewels to the whole world. The co-operative regularly presents its production in foreign trade fairs through its foreign business partners or the company Jablonex.

As the Bohemian garnets are so famous, they are imitated and offered in the Czech market and elsewhere, even with the protected mark "Bohemian garnet". Therefore, if you truly want to have an original jewel made by Czech jewellers, buy them with a manufacturer's certificate or from a certified seller only.