The Czech glass industry

For over 500 years glass beads, buttons and glassware have been made in the area of Bohemia, Central Europe.

Starting with King Charles of Bohemia's invitation to ethnic Germans to relocate to the region of the Jizera Mountains in the late 1400's to create glassworks manufacturing, this area became in turn a province of Austria,(Bohemia) a province of Czechoslovakia in 1918 after the breakup of the Austrian Empire, Sudutenland in 1930's by Hitler, then back to being Czechoslovakia in 1945 after WW2 and finally independent Czech Republic after the velvet Revolution of 1989.

The town where the glass bead and button production centered on was Jablonec nad Nisou, just north of Prague near the Polish border.

The surrounding villages in this whole area had many glassworks, pressing huts, coating factories, faceting factories and other related glassworks factories. Crystal chandelier factories and vase factories also were situated around the area.It is now called the Crystal Valley by local business people.

For most of its history Jablonec nad Nisou was known by its German name, Gablonz nas Niesse. After 1945, the new Czechoslovakian Government deported most of the Suduten Germans back to war ravaged Germany where they attempted to continue making glass beads and buttons, mainly in NeuGablonz. In Gablonz, the town was called Jablonec, and things continued as normal but without most of its talented German bead makers. Things got worse after the 1968 Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the glass industry stumbled along until 1989 and the independence of the Czech Republic.

With the new freedom of Czech independence the glass industry flourished. Small cottage industry bead makers could export their goods directly to the rest of the world, instead of being forced to go through the state run Jablonex, which controlled what was being made, and who could purchase the glass products being made. It became well known that Jablonex salesmen were KGB spies, and used Jablonex has a cover for their operations when traveling to the west.

Old bloated companies like the state run Jablonex, went bankrupt in 2010, and Zeleznobrodskidk ll, another bloated huge state run glass factory in Zelezny Brod and while at first this looked like the glass industry was dying, in fact it was diversifying into new, exciting companies by the old managers and vice presidents of Jablonex who took their knowledge and experience and created new styles and products never seen before. Although there were over 2000 agents based in Gablonz during its heyday, today there are about 60, with maybe 20 glass bead factories sprinkled around the area. Young lampworkers are starting up glass studios all over the area, in Jablonec, Semily, Zelezny Brod, Hut, Novy Bor, and other small villages scattered around the area.

And they are thriving. New designs come out every year, like 2 hole beads, spikes, 2mm firepolish, table cuts. New colors or finishes come out, like uranium glass, alexandrite color change glass, peacock finish, travertine finish, laser cut. It seems to be endless, the ideas just keep coming. It is truly exciting.

Unfortunately, this was not the case with the glass button industry. Of the over 200 button factories that used to exist only three exist today, and only one pressing hut with two old men who actually press the buttons ordered by the three factories. The buttons made by these factories are primarily for collectors and the jewelry trade, not for clothing and the textile fashion trade. The invention of the washing machine basically killed off the glass button.

‘There is potentily new button pressers still around, and that industry could rebound again. I know of one button factory who has been collecting all the equipment to build a pressing hut. The kiln, the grinder, the molds and pliers, but he is waiting for the 2 old men to die before he will fire up his hut. Because then he will be the only button maker in existence and can control everything including price. I also know of another man in the area who makes perfume bottles. He has a large room in his studio/warehouse that has a large collection of antique pliers and button molds along with antique perfume bottle molds, that he pulls out every so often and presses a small run of large buttons. But for right now, it’s only sporadic, when he feels like it. But I’ve seen them, and he’s told me what he does. He’s not in a hurry to do it.

So there is a glimmer of hope for buttons, and beads aren’t going away yet. Stay tuned for new products to come out of this area, it will be around for the next hundred years or more. These artisans are resilient. And creative.