This week, Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service.
Fabergé has held a close connection to Royal households around the world since 1885, and in 1903, Fabergé opened their first London branch, on Old Bond Street, thanks to the patronage of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The Royal patronage was crucial to Fabergé in order to replicate his success in Russia in London - he opened confident in the knowledge that British royals were already admirers.
Maria Feodorovna – mother of Nicholas II – regularly sent Fabergé gifts to her sister, Queen Alexandra of England. Exchanging gifts was an important protocol in Edwardian society, a facet of the social balls and weekend house parties that defined a season, and Fabergé’s pieces captured the zeitgeist of this golden age of gift giving.
Collecting Fabergé became a royal pastime, and since then, over six generations, the family has amassed 800 pieces in the Royal Collection. Today, the Royal Collection Trust’s collection of pre-1917 Fabergé creations is not only one of the largest in existence, but is also one of the most important. This is because the core of the collection was either acquired by Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII direct from Fabergé, or was given to them by relatives or friends who also bought the pieces from the same source. Subsequent members of the Royal Family, including HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince of Wales, have added to the collection. It includes everything from crochet hooks to Imperial Easter Eggs, as well the world’s largest menagerie of Fabergé hardstone animals and a group of flower studies.
The Fabergé Mosaic Egg, acquired by King George V and Queen Mary in 1933. Royal Collection Trust.
Why has their taste for Fabergé endured? “The family association is what hooked the British royal family from the get-go,” explains Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the Queen’s works of art. “It’s that shared patronage and delight in the works coupled with the second reason, which is admiration for the craftsmanship and skill completely embodied in Fabergé’s work.”
To enquire about commissioning a unique creation to commemorate this memorable occasion, please visit Bespoke Jewellery Page.
