The largest glass bead factory in the Crystal Valley.

G&B

The Crystal Valley:

At the beggining, there was the production of the first czech glass composition for production of a diamond imitation in 1711 in Turnov. Then the production expanded to many villages in the Jizera mountains including Jablonec nad Nisou and so called Jablonec glassware was soon known all over the world. With pride and respect built on this tradition, artisans invent and develop new shapes and colors. They walk in the footsteps of the historical legacy of their ancestors.( taken from their “about us“ section of the G&B website).

Suzanna is the current owner of G&B. We have known her since 1997, almost 2 years after we (Wild Things Beads) started going to the Crystal Valley to buy and import beads, buttons and glassware from this region.

This was the factory and warehouse of G&B when we first found them. The first noticeable bead business when we entered town from the drive from Prague - the house of beads.

Suzanna’s memories:

My grandparents, Oldřiška and František Šourek also joined the way of beading and jewellery production in 1937. They produced the lamp beads, pressed beads and glass jewellery in Huntířov and later in Skuhrov. This jewellery was supplied to export houses in Jablonec and Prague (Huntířov is a municipality and village in the Děčín District of the Ústí nad Labem Region in the Czech Republic, historically known by its German name Güntersdorf. It is located in the picturesque region of Bohemian Switzerland and has a history dating back to the 13th-14th centuries, founded by German colonists.)

(Skuhrov is a village and municipality in the Jablonec nad Nisou District, within the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, known for its history and proximity to natural attractions like the Bohemian Paradise. It is a small community with a long history, first mentioned in 1543, and is located near other villages like Huntířov, and Alsovice.)

Historical report:

The report made for the Inland Revenue office in Semily shows that they employed 20 domestic workers (4 workers for pressing the beads, 16 women for stringing them) and another 3 people for completing and packing the goods. Labour costs were 277.753,- CZK per year. To 1st January 1943, the stock of the company was amounted to 2.000,- CZK in finished goods, 16.000,- CZK in semi-finished goods and 123.500,- CZK in raw material. To 31st December that year, the stock was following: 68.450,- CZK in finished goods, 9.340,- CZK in semi-finished goods and 56.320,- CZK in raw material.

Suzanna’s memories:

When I was a little girl, I helped my grandmother with stringing beads and discovered glass beaded treasures on the loft. Pearls and beads became my hobby, work and pleasure.

I included some of the family glass bead patterns into an assortment of a small company created in the early nineties. G&B bijoux Ltd. was created in 1995 and increased the bead range by pressed beads, faceted beads and jewellery components.

An important turning point was the purchase of the original manufacturing facility and expansion of the company in 2002.

Timeline History:

1991 – Gesco, spol. s r.o. And Bellis glass jewelry company merged together to make G&B.

Following the post-communist privatization of the Czech glass industry in the 1990s, the current founders built upon their family's heritage to establish G&B bijoux Ltd. in 1995, and also Litina sro. was purchased as a component company to improve G& B‘s business model.

1998 – GESCO a Bellis - G&B bijoux, s.r.o. The final result.

G&B currently operates as one of the largest manufacturers of Czech glass beads, producing pressed, fire-polished, table-cut, and lamp beads. The factory grounds are also a popular tourist destination, housing a working museum with 19th-century wooden pressing machines, cutting tools, and creative workshops.

Today, G&B operates out of a historic former spinning mill (part of the larger Nisa Factory complex) situated at the foothills of the Jizera Mountains. It is located in the village of Janov nad Nisou, just outside of Jablonec nad Nisou.