It was created for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Granát Turnov company and consists of a necklace, bracelet, ring and two sets of smaller and larger earrings. This set is exceptional mainly due to the size of the Czech grenades used. The chairman of the board of Granát, Pavel Tvrzník, told ČTK today that it was the first time such a company was created.
“It is a set made of fourteen-carat gold and symbolically embedded in it are 70 Czech garnets of a unique size, which we have collected over the years. In this case, they are seven-by-five-millimeter pantlocks, which are stones of a rare size, because Czech garnets are small and stones over six millimeters are already very rare,” said Tvrzník. According to him, they only get a few such large gems from their deposits in a year.
In addition to the 70 large grenades, the set also includes another 1,492 “regular” grenades with a size of 1.1 to 1.5 millimeters. The jewelry was created by a team of designers, grinders and goldsmiths from Granat Turnov, they worked on it for about four months. The set will be in the museum’s Treasury until December 10, after which the company will probably sell it. “We are negotiating with several interested parties,” added Tvrzník. He did not reveal the price, he only indicated that it was well over a million crowns.
Lenka Laurynová, the documenter of the fine art and jewelry collection funds of the Turnov Museum, also considers the set on display to be unique. “First of all, it is in terms of the stones used, their size and in such a number is a rarity. Otherwise, the design is rather classic, even classicizing. It’s an elegant set for day and evening wear, and I think that anyone who buys it will definitely celebrate success with it,” she told ČTK today.
Czech garnet is a transparent, translucent gem of blood red color. It is exceptionally colorfast and resistant to heat and acids. Jewelers worked with it already in the early Middle Ages. Some magical and healing effects are attributed to it: its color symbolizes life force, vitality, love and energy. Crushed Czech pomegranate was previously used as a medicine in the form of ointments and drops against anemia, in the treatment of the heart, injuries and inflammations. In the Middle Ages, knights wore Czech grenades on their bodies as protection.
The Granát Turnov cooperative was founded in 1953, when 127 jewelers from Turnov started working together in one jewelry workshop with the aim of continuing the traditional production of garnet jewelry in the region under one brand. The company currently employs 169 people. This year, the company expects a turnover of around 130 million crowns, according to Tvrzník, the business should end in a moderate profit. Granát from Turnov will sell most of its production in the Czech Republic. The company is unique in that it carries out everything from the extraction of Czech garnet to the final sale.
