historical roots

The company of Curt Schlevogt, founded in 1928, also became famous for the production of artistic crystalware. This firm began producing luxury pressed glass during the 1930s, a comprehensive collection of which was presented in 1934 at the spring fair in Leipzig under the business name of “Ingrid”. The collection was comprised of vanity and smoking sets, vases, table decorations, sculptures, liqueur sets, and devotional articles. The company became famous primarily for products made of opaque glass supplied by the Josef Riedel glassworks—of green jade, blue lapis, and other non-traditional shades. Under the leadership of the owner of the firm, Henry Günther Schlevogt, many European artists participated in the creation of the company collection. These artists included Vally Wieselthier, Franz Hagenauer, Ena Rottenberg, Eleon von Rommel, Mario Petrucci, and many more. The products designed by them are displayed in the “Ingrid” colour product catalogue from 1939, which is also a radiant example of top-quality pre-war printing. At the same time, it demonstrates the sensitivity of Henry G. Schlevogt for work with artistic glass and its presentation.

All major glassmaking companies were nationalised in the period following World War II and later incorporated in the Jablonec Glassworks enterprise, with its headquarters located in Desná. The enterprise was then privatised after 1990, which lead to the emergence of new glassmaking companies. The Ornela company, the new owner of the production base of the former Jablonec Glassworks enterprise, thus provided a continuation to the tradition of artistic crystalware production in the Jizera Mountain area. A new company grouping known as the Jablonex Group a.s. was founded in 2005 on the initiative of Ornela with the amalgamation of a number of prominent local glass and costume jewellery manufacturers. This new grouping nonetheless continues traditional production.