Installation of the exhibition Crystals – 80 years in the service of technical progress in the Czech Paradise Museum, March 14, 2023 in Turnov. The exhibition takes visitors through the history of crystal cultivation and shows them how synthetic crystals are prepared today.
Turnov (Semilsko) – The Czech Paradise Museum in Turnov will present crystals in the service of technical progress. He will guide visitors through the history of growing crystals and explain how synthetic crystals are prepared and used today by the CRYTUR company in Turnov. The exhibition Crystals – 80 years in the service of technical progress will be accessible in the museum until June 18. Among other things, visitors can see how such a crystal grows, thanks to the hologram they can see it in a minute, although in reality it takes two to three weeks, Jan Bitman, the company's marketing manager, told ČTK today.
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The exhibition should also introduce the company to the locals. “A lot of Turnovans know that Crytur is in Turnov, but no one really knows what it does. And we decided to show it. We want to go more into those applications than just showing the crystals. The crystal is nice, but we want to show what it's for is actually used. That's why here we have a demonstration of microscopy, X-ray cameras, they are used in lasers and lighting technology,” added Bitman. Among other things, Crytur supplies crystals for the particle accelerator detectors of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
The beginnings of crystal production in Turnov date back to 1943, when the Research Institute for Gemstones was founded. It was focused on the use of precious stones in jewelry and jewelery making, but at the very beginning he was given the task of focusing research on synthetic single crystals as well, which determined further development. In 1951, it was renamed the Research Institute for Minerals and some workers from the Research Institute for Electrotechnical Physics were incorporated there. The content was the development of water-soluble crystals, for example sodium chloride or Seignet's salt (potassium sodium tartrate) and the development of the preparation of hydrothermal quartz.
In the 1960s, the institute was renamed the Single Crystal Research Institute, and scientists there began attempts to develop the growth of high-temperature oxide single crystals for lasers and scintillators. In 1965, the trademark “Crytur” was registered. At the end of the 1960s, the institute changed its name to Monokrystaly Turnov, a research institute for the research of single crystals and their use. At that time, 90 percent of production was intended for the Czechoslovak defense industry. In addition to components for lasers and scintillators, personal dosimeters were also produced. According to Bitman, this may also be the reason why there was not much talk about production.
After 1986, there was a significant decline in special production for the defense industry, in 1989 it fell to 60 percent, and at the time of the joint privatization with Preciosa by three years later, production for defense was only in units of percent. After the privatization, there was Preciosa Crytur, in 1997, but three workers bought this part and Crytur was created. Currently, the company has a single owner, from 30 people in 1998, it gradually grew to a company with 400 employees. In 2021, according to the commercial register, it carried out orders for more than 519 million crowns, roughly 86 percent of production was destined for foreign countries.
