Preciosa Crystal and Jablonec: The Czech Story Behind Our Brooches

Turn over almost any of our brooches and the crystals in it have come from the same corner of the world: northern Bohemia, in today's Czech Republic, where glassmakers have been at work for more than 450 years. At the centre of it all is a small town called Jablonec nad Nisou.

A valley built on glass

The region's first glassworks opened in 1548. The hills of northern Bohemia had everything a glassmaker needed (sand, timber for the furnaces and fast rivers for power), and over the centuries the area became known as Crystal Valley. By the 19th century, Jablonec was the world centre of costume jewellery, sending glass beads, buttons and stones all over the globe. The town's Museum of Glass and Jewellery, founded in 1904, still holds hundreds of thousands of them.

One local took the craft further than most: Daniel Swarovski was born just outside Jablonec in 1862, and learned the trade there before moving to Austria in 1895 to found the company that bears his name.

Where Preciosa comes in

The Preciosa name was first registered in Bohemia in 1915. In 1948, two dozen glass and jewellery firms around Jablonec were merged into one company under that name, and Preciosa is still headquartered in the town today.

What makes the crystal sparkle?

Crystal is glass made to play with light. Traditional Preciosa crystal contains lead, which makes the glass denser so it splits light into flashes of colour: the "fire" collectors talk about. Each stone is then cut with precise facets that throw that light back at every angle. (Since 2013, Preciosa has also made a lead-free crystal.)

From stone to brooch

Our brooches pair Preciosa crystals with hand-enamelled settings, so each piece is part jewellery, part miniature painting. Christmas designs (snowflakes, angels, wreaths and baubles) sit alongside nature pieces like birds, butterflies and flowers. Browse our Christmas brooches, nature brooches and crystal earrings.

Caring for crystal

• Wipe with a soft, dry cloth after wearing.
• Put your brooch on after perfume and hairspray, not before.
• Store each piece separately so the stones don't scratch one another.

For ideas on wearing them, read How to Wear Brooches in 2026.

Updated November 2026