Preciosa® Crystal

The Sources of Craftsmanship

As early as in the 16th and (the) 17th century, precious and semi precious stones exploited in Kozákov, on the Ještěd Ridge or in the Jizerske Mountains, were cut in Northern Bohemia, namely in the Turnov region and later also in and around Jablonec nad Nisou.

The secret of melting glass mixtures – the first substitute for natural stones – came to Bohemia from Venice. In the early 18th century, the Fraternity of Steisneider Art was established in Turnov, gathering manufacturers of cut glass stones.

At the end of the 18th century, Northern Bohemia witnessed the spread of the production and cutting of lead crystal, a material introduced by jeweler Joseph Strasser of Vienna. Manual work was gradually replaced by the technology of fashion jewelry stones machine cuttingthis procedure was well-known in Northern Bohemia already at the end of the 19th century and it became widespread in the early 20th century

The Preciosa Brand and Its History

The Preciosa brand was first registered in Bohemia in 1915. After World War II, several small-size glassworks and glass making shops in and around Jablonec nad Nisou merged together.

Preciosa company was officially established on April 10, 1948

Thanks to its versatility, broad research background and substantial technical capacity, Preciosa gradually became a key supplier on the world’s fashion jewelry scene, although its historical business activities were channeled strictly through designated state-run organizations for foreign trade.

At the beginning of the 1990’s, i.e. after the Velvet Revolution, the then state-run enterprise passed into private hands and launched its own foreign trade efforts aimed at building a global distribution network. The production portfolio was continually broadened with new fields of industry in pursuit of a clearly set goal: To become a world top-notch quality enterprise in crystal glass processing and an enterprise with lasting prosperity.

Preciosa, a strong corporation with a global scope of activities and representations in all important markets, cautiously maintains and guards all it inherited from its forefathers: Tradition, skill, quality, reliability and an innovative approach. Yet it builds its future on the efficient use of state-of-the-art technologies and eclectic knowledge across all fields of science while bearing in mind its responsibility towards society.