Did you know that the world’s largest manufacturer of glass beads is based in the Crystal Valley? The company is PRECIOSA ORNELA, with factories in Desná and Zásada. And did you know that there isn’t a single place on earth where they aren’t known? After all, neither the famous fashion designers in modern metropolises nor the indigenous tribes on the other side of the world can do without them. Why?

Great things in life are often made up of small things—in the case of beads, even tiny ones. Although there is an endless variety of shapes today, they are mostly round and colorful, just like our planet. Thanks to the hole in the center, they can be strung or sewn to create your own worlds. And it’s about far more than just decoration. Through the chosen color combination, you can communicate wordlessly with the people around you; they can be a symbol or a magical object, such as a protective amulet or even a form of currency.

Glass beads became established in northern Bohemia in the 18th century. At that time, glassmakers from the Jizera Mountains began cutting them from glass tubes and shaping them into round or faceted forms. They drew inspiration from Italian products from the Venetian island of Murano, but soon surpassed them in quality and variety. By the mid-19th century, thanks to exporters from the Jablonec region, Czech glass beads were being shipped in large quantities to customers on every continent. Europe was soon joined by North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Some used intermediaries in their trade, while others, such as Albert Sachse or the Jäckel brothers, exported their goods directly. And very successfully. Sachse became so wealthy that he co-owned the world’s largest seed bead factory in Venice and financed research expeditions into the heart of Africa; before World War I, Ernst Jäckel served as the Austrian consul for Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and St. Helena.

In addition to indigenous African tribes, the Native Americans—the Indians—could not imagine life without glass beads. After all, legend has it that the Dutch acquired Manhattan, the heart of New York, from them in the 17th century in exchange for these beads. Some researchers even claim that the availability of colored beads determined the style of traditional clothing worn by North American Indian tribes. While on the eastern coast of the continent, closer to Europe and major trading ports, the indigenous peoples had easy access to a variety of colors, in the west and in the interior of the continent, they were mostly limited to white, black, or brown—colors that did not sell in the East.

The exhibition A BEAD FOR THE WHOLE WORLD presents this tiny glass ornament as it is perceived and used by people living tens of thousands of kilometers away from where it is made. They are the ones who created the objects you can see here. Their skill, taste, and spirit are imprinted in them. The glass bead is, in fact, a true bridge between people of different cultures, faiths, interests, and desires. A bridge full of imagination, just like life itself.

You can find more about the Crystal Valley Week 2026 program HERE