Designer Anna Orska visited the Julia Glassworks in Piechowice, where under the watchful eye of glassworkers and ornament makers she learned the secrets of crystal glass production. Its connection with the jewelry tradition is not obvious, yet it should not come as a surprise. Sparkling and perfectly clear crystal glass reflects light like diamonds and is often decorated with so-called brilliant cut. The latest Julia jewelry collection is the result of a journey in which ORSKA returns to its roots and reconnects them with jewelry craftsmanship. ORSKA gives a new meaning to crystal, classically associated with sumptuous tableware and family heirlooms, moving it from the cupboard to the dressing room. The collection encourages us to release glass from behind display cases and enjoy it in everyday life.

Huta Julia is an efficient cultivator of the region's glassmaking traditions and the direct heir of the Josephine glassworks from Szklarska Poręba and the Fritz Heckert glassworks from Piechowice. For more than one hundred and fifty years, it has been producing high-quality crystal glass, combining craftsmanship experience with modern solutions. Anna Orska arrived in the small town, located near the Karkonosze Mountains, not by accident. - I dreamed of working with Huta. I knew that we have the last place in Poland for the production of crystal glass and I thought it would be worthwhile to speak out about its heritage," recalls the designer, who for several months, together with the masters from Piechowice, combined crystal glass with brass and gold in a unexpected and surprising way.

Anna Orska selected individual fragments of the most popular cuts and combined them to create new designs. In the Julia collection, it is the decorative cut that defines the form, while traditionally it was used to mask minor imperfections and air bubbles that accidentally solidified in the cooled glass. By reversing the process, the ornamental function stands out the most. The emphasis is on aesthetic and sensory impressions.

How the Julia collection was made

Jewelry from the Julia collection was handmade in two workshops. The geometric glass elements were created and polished by glassworkers and ornament designers from the Julia Glassworks. Then, at the ORSKA workshop, jewelers fitted them into 23.5 karat gold-plated settings. The collaboration of master craftsmen from two different craft traditions succeeded in redefining crystal forms and enriching the range of jewelry components with a new material. The process of adapting non-jewellery craftsmanship to jewelry forms was an opportunity to expand contexts and exchange experiences. - Learning about the craft from scratch enriches the designer's work. Knowing the possibility and limitations of techniques and materials, I can fully exploit their potential," says Anna Orska.