The Czech national gemstone, the Czech garnet
An elegant pen that represents its country of origin: the Czech Republic. The Crystal Valley.
During his visit to Chile, President Petr Pavel left an unusual gift at the presidential palace—a pen adorned with Czech garnets from Turnov in the Crystal Valley. He had originally intended it only for his own notes, but the situation took an unexpected turn during the signing of a memorandum of cooperation in the field of space technology. The pen that had been prepared stopped working, so the president offered his own without hesitation. Once the signing was complete, he decided to leave it there as a gesture of goodwill and a symbol of the Czech presence in Chile.
The pen comes from the workshop of the Turnov-based company Granát, a cooperative for artistic production, which is one of the traditional manufacturers of jewelry featuring Czech garnets. These stones are characteristic of the region of northern Bohemia known as the Crystal Valley—an area renowned for glassmaking, costume jewelry, and jewelry production with a long tradition.
According to Granát, družstvo umělecké výroby, Turnov, it was a pleasant surprise, as they only learned about the pen’s use during the state visit from the media. They are all the more pleased that their product served as a representative gift on the international stage.
The entire gesture thus combines a subtle nod to the past with a showcase of traditional Czech craftsmanship from the Crystal Valley—the region where Czech glass art is born.
