About Bohemian garnet
Bohemian garnet
… small precious stone red as blood, full of mystery, passion and magic effects.
Did you know that the Bohemian garnet has, among other garnets mined in many locations throughout the world, the same unique status as the Colombian emerald among the emeralds, or the ruby of Burmese among the rubies? If not, you should know that its properties are absolutely unique.
What constitutes the uniqueness of Bohemian garnet:
- Typical fiery red color
- High temperature resistance
- Extremely high hardness
- Light refractivity – it can conjure up dazzling reflections
Magical effects of Bohemian garnet:
- Brings courage and confidence
- Restores strength and stimulates activity
- Supplies vitality
- Strengthens desire
- Protects friendship
- Helps overcome sadness
- Controls blood circulation and pressure
Bohemian Garnets are also accompanied by many legends and tales. For centuries, they have been considered to be the stone of pilgrims and travelers who wore them as talismans. Legend has it that Noah had a lamp on his ark, made of garnets, to help him navigate his ship in the evening darkness. It was said that grenades illuminating the night would protect the wearer from evil.
In the Middle Ages, knights had their weapons fitted with garnets, not only for decoration, but more importantly for their protective power against wounds. It gave warriors a sense of immortality.
Another legend claims that the tiny crystals of red garnets are petrified drops of the blood of the gods.
Garnet symbolizes fire, blood and purity of heart, so it is a popular gift for wedding anniversaries or for romantic love confessions.
Let the beauty of the Czech garnet inspire you, discover its power and strength…
The mining history of Bohemian garnets
Bohemian garnets were formed in the parent rock under tremendous temperatures and pressures deep beneath the Earth’s crust. Volcanic activity brought them to the surface, where erosion deposited them in so-called pyrope-bearing gravels. Known deposits of pyropes are found in the Bohemian Central Highlands, where they are still mined today.
According to the recorded evidence, garnets were first collected in the fields and dug out of the deposits of brooks. Later, they began to be mined from hillside gravels. The material extracted from the circular shafts was brought up by ladders from a depth of up to 10 m and further sieved, floated and panned. It was only after 1959 that industrial, so-called block mining was introduced.
Mining in the present day
Currently, we have the right to mine Bohemian garnets in Podsedice and Dolní Olešnice.
On the fields which we have rented, layers of pyrope-bearing gravel are collected and the extracted material is further processed. It is cleaned and sorted using sieve separators and a drum washing machine. At the end of the process, a so-called concentrate remains – gravel with a high proportion of Bohemian garnets.
