Gemstones in the streams of the Karkonosze Mountains

Prospecting for gemstones in the Karkonosze Mountains
Gem exploitation started with digging rather shallow ditches and pits in river valleys. Then gravel, sand and the excavated material were sieved and flushed in special vessels until mineral concentration of a high specific gravity was achieved. Gemstones can not only be found in sand and gravel of riverbeds, but also in solid magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rock. Nearly one sixth of all gemstones come from pegmatite druses with beautiful crystals. A Saxon scholar, Georg Bauer (1494-1555), also known as Georgius Agricola included in his De Re Metallica, which was published in 1556, a print and the following description of the method used by the Walloons to extract gold and gems from mountain streams:
The Italians who come to the German mountains seeking gold, in order to wash the river sand which contains gold-dust and garnets, use a fairly
long shallow trough hewn out of a tree, rounded within and without, open
at one end and closed at the other, which they turn in the bed of the stream
in such a way that the water does not dash into it, but flows in gently.
They stir the sand, which they throw into it, with a wooden hoe, also
rounded. To prevent the particles of gold or garnets from running out with
the light sand, they close the end with a board similarly rounded, but lower
than the sides of the trough. The concentrates of gold or garnets which, with a small quantity of heavy sand, have settled in the trough, they wash
in a bowl and collect in bags and carry away with them.

The amount of gemstones found in the Karkonosze Mountains was so huge that Emperor Rudolph II summoned the best gemcutters to Prague. They were the famous Miseroni brothers of Milan, Italy. In 1850 in the suburbs of Prague, in Bubenec, there stood a gemcutting mill and workshops, managed by Ottavio Miseroni.
A hundred years later, Christian Gryphius, who visited the Karkonosze Mountains in 1670, mentioned a Christian Exner of Karpacz, who was at that time a gemstone prospector and cutter. Gemstone exploration and cutting were so popular in the Karkonosze region that in the Jelenia Góra Valley itself there were several placer mining sites and jewellery workshops, e.g. in Sobieszów.
However, the true capital of gemcutting was Cieplice. Kings, dukes, noblemen and spa visitors who came to the local hot springs purchased seals, signet rings, or rings with engraved motifs and sentences. Hugo Kołłątaj, who visited the health resort in September 1792, had four seals made by Cieplice craftsmen. One of them bore an inscription commemorating the Constitution of May 3, 1791. Another was topaz framed in silver.
The mineral wealth of the Karkonosze Mountains could be seen in the collection of the Schaffgotsch family of Cieplice, which they had gathered for many years. It included crystals of the Karkonosze Mountains. In 1847 Wincenty Pol described the collection: The mineral collection is systematically arranged and very rich, especially the beautiful crystals. In total, there are over 12,000 items.
Years ago, in the area of Cieplice, Łomnica and Kowary, as well as from the pebbles of the Bóbr River and its tributaries, people extracted gems resembling topaz. It was called ‘false topaz,’ ‘gold topaz,’ ‘Scottish topaz,’ ‘Czech topaz’ or ‘Spanish topaz.’ It was cut and locally sold in necklaces as ‘Silesian topaz.’ The stone was in fact lemon-yellow quartz called citrine, from French citron ‘lemon.’
The abovementioned Renaissance metallurgist and alchemist Georgius Agricola thought that the name quartz comes from Slavic skvariti ‘to fry, because when hit, it produces sparks. In chemical terms, it is silicon dioxide (SiO2) and has got nearly 200 varieties.
Rock crystal is the purest type of quartz. It is so hard that it can scratch glass and feldspar. In ancient times, quartz balls were used to burn wounds and Japanese embroiders used them to cool their hands and prevent them from sweating. Jewellers can quickly distinguish rock crystal from glass. They put it against the cheek, and if it is rock crystal, they feel characteristic coolness. Ancient Greeks thought that the mineral was ice that had lost its ability to melt, so they called it crystallos ‘ice.’ Pliny claimed that rock crystal is formed out of snow during very bitter winters. In the early 19th century there were companies that exploited rock crystal in Łomnica, Karpniki and Szklarska Poręba.
Amethyst is a violet form of quartz, owing its colour to iron oxide (Fe2O3) and it is one of the most precious varieties. According to ancient beliefs, amethyst was considered to be an antidote against drunkenness – its Greek name means ‘not drunken.’ Later the name was interpreted as ‘not poisoning’ and people thought it could protect them against any poison. The gem was also thought to have protected people against making mistakes, flying into a rage or going mad. Saint Hildegard advised people to treat skin disorders by licking the stone and then rubbing it against sick spots. According to her, pregnant women who wore amethyst balls on their hips would have good-looking, clever and healthy children and infertile women would soon bear their own children.
Even today in the gravel of Karkonosze streams like the Płomnica or the Łomniczka you can find pieces of amethyst and rock crystal, or brown pea-sized garnets. Garnet was quite common on the Silesian side of the mountains, being as precious as gold. The Venetians used it as an ingredient of the so-called ‘gold salt,’ which was used to produce coloured glass. It is worth walking in the area – you can casually kick a stone that will prove to be a precious mineral specimen.