It seems that many of the fancier and interesting beads available today are Czech glass beads. Their availability and popularity today has been in spite of many obstacles that were overcome within the Czech Republic.
This region has a long history of producing glass beads, going back to the years before 200 BC. Known previously as Bohemian glass beads, Czech glass beads continue to gain favor in the jewelry industry.
The history of the Czech glass bead
The strength and durability of a bead begins with the glass that is used to make it. Czech glass beads have built upon the formerly excellent reputation of their glass industry. Over the last five hundred years, the Bohemian glass industry had been among the best in the word.
Bohemian glass-makers across history had been renowned for their techniques - particularly since the middle ages. This trade was passed down in secrecy through families to protect the production techniques that had allowed it rise to prominence. Molded beads and decorations on the surface created by grinding were methods often associated with the Czech glass bead of this time.
From 1993, the fall of communism and the separation of Slovakia from the former Republic of Czechoslovakia has impacted on their glass production. What had been stifled under communist rule has now flourished!
Czech glass beads today
The Czech Republic has made some promising inroads into re-establishing its reputation as among the finer glass-producing countries worldwide. Czech glass beads are increasingly popular in jewelry making today for this reason.
In recent years, the Czech Republic has reported at least 48 glass factories in operation. Among the many glass products are the Czech glass beads. They are manufactured in a great amount of colors, sizes, shapes, appearances and finishes that make them beautiful.
Different techniques are used to create unique finishes and shapes, making a Czech glass bead a special experience for bead enthusiasts. Czech glass beads are particularly prominent in seed bead production, and are now reportedly the world's largest producer of seed beads.
It will be telling to see the great, new innovations that will emerge to ensure that Czech glass beads continue to rebuild their reputation in the jewelry industry in the years that come.
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