The Story of Jablonec Costume Jewelry.

Nový, Petr

Although historically there were centers of costume jewelry production with export potential in several countries around the world, the widest range of this assortment was produced in the north of today's Czech Republic, in the Jizera Mountains and their surroundings. In this region, an area of only 440 square km, imported Italian, French, and German technological know-how connected with the domestic Bohemian glassmaking tradition and developed further thanks to the activities of ambitious domestic and foreign traders. During the nineteenth century, the town of Jablonec nad Nisou (in German Gablonz an der Neiße) became the center of a Jablonec/Gablonz costume jewelry tradition that was exported all over the world. In the years between the First and Second World Wars, up to 15--20 percent of the world's costume jewelry was produced in the Jizera Mountains, representing 30--50 percent of the value of global trade in jewelry during this same period. From the eighteenth century, the Jablonec global trade and production phenomenon included glass imitations of precious stones, soon followed by glass beads, seed beads, buttons, metal costume jewelry, plastic jewelry, and glass bracelets called bangles. This study considers the history and development of Jablonec costume jewelry, emphasizing its fundamental milestones and features until the mid-twentieth century, when production and trade came to be monopolized by the state. It mainly draws upon primary and secondary German and Czech literature, which is difficult to access in English-speaking countries.

CZECH Republic; GERMANY; JEWELRY making; GLASS trade; GLASS beads

Journal of Glass Studies, 2022, Vol 64, p189

0075-4250

Academic Journal