Striped flint

It’s hard to write about striped flint, without mentioning Cezary Łutowicz. He was the person who, more than 40 years ago, saw for the first time the potential in a piece of rock which was used on the roads of Sandomierz in the form of crushed stone. It turned out that flint, which was nothing special for the inhabitants of the region, possessed properties which successfully qualified it to be eligible gemstone. It is hard (almost 7 on the Mohs scale), decorative and extremely rare: it can only be found in Poland, mostly in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains.

“Striped flint – ornamental variety of flint which is distinguished by a concentric, more or less regular arrangement of light and dark streaks or layers often creating a very attractive pattern.
In Poland, it occurs in the form of concretion (up to 2 m) or layers within the the Upper Jurassic rocks (Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian), mainly in the Krzemionki Opatowskie and in the north-eastern surroundings of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains “

Flint in limestone

In 1972, the striped flint was first set in silver. In later years, its popularity has increased significantly: in 2007, Anna Orska designed for the company W.Kruk a collection of jewelry that was adorned by this particular stone. The uniqueness and history of the flint which roots date back to the Neolithic period was appreciated. And so, in 2011, it became the stone of Polish Presidency of the European Union.

The undisputed capital of the flint is Sandomierz. In the local district museum there is the world’s largest collection of jewelry that uses this unique stone. From year to year, the collection grows and expands through “Sandomierz Goldsmithing Workshop” organized there, during which a small group of young artists have the opportunity to get familiar with this valuable material.

Jarosław Kolec – necklace with a striped flint

Andrzej Szadkowski – ring with a striped flint and an amber

Jarosław Kolec – necklace with a striped flint

In addition to the workshops, “National Competition Original Jewelry, Flint Stone – The Stone of Optimism” has been organized in Sandomierz for several years. This year, it has already been announced for the third time, and Mariusz Pajączkowski, as a curator, will supervise it. The main requirement that the applicant must meet, is the use of striped flint.

Jewelry made should also fall within the definition according to which the jewelry is every decoration of body and costume. Deadline: June 15. Full terms and conditions HERE

Sources:

I Festiwal Krzemień Pasiasty – Kamień Optymizmu, Galeria Otwarta, Sandomierz 2011 (Festival of Flint Stone – Stone Optimism, Open Gallery, Sandomierz 2011)

http://www.krzemienpasiasty.info/pliki/regulamin-3-konkursu.pdf [online 18.04.2015]

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzemie%C5%84_pasiast [online 18.04.2015]