We’re delighted to share that our brand partner, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., has seen a record-breaking start to 2024, selling a whiskey set from our ‘Emerald Isle’ collection to American collector Mike Daley, for $2.8m USD. This sale makes The Emerald Isle, already the rarest triple-distilled single malt in existence, the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold, breaking the previous record of $2.7 millions USD. This exciting milestone shows the investment value of Fabergé, as well as Irish whiskey.
Daley is one of the US' most prolific collectors of the spirit, with a vast collection consisting of several thousand bottles of Irish, American, and Scotch whiskeys.
Jay Bradley, founder and CEO of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. said: "A bottle of The Emerald Isle becoming the most expensive whiskey or whisky ever sold is a monumental achievement for my business, and an incredibly proud moment for me. I started The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. with the goal of making Irish whiskey the most coveted luxury spirit and restoring Ireland's reputation for crafting the finest whiskeys in the world, this brings us several steps closer to achieving that, and we're only six years into the journey. There's a lot more to come from us, and I'm excited for our customers and competitors to see what we have in store."
Our partnership with the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. was announced on 1st February 2021, with the release ‘The Emerald Isle Collection,’ a seven-piece custom-made whiskey set which celebrates the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’. Beautifully presented in a dark walnut experience box, each set features two bottles of ultra-rare, 30-year-old, triple distilled Irish whiskey, accompanied by two unique and exclusive Fabergé creations – the first-of-its-kind Celtic Egg objet and bespoke Altruist timepiece. Each collection also includes a humidor with two ultra-rare Cohiba Siglo VI Grand Reserva cigars, a gold-plated cigar cutter, gold plated water pipette, pure obsidian whiskey stones, a hip flask with a sample of the Emerald Isle whiskey, which is the rarest Irish whiskey in existence, and a carafe filled with Irish spring water from the same region where the whiskey was made.
Each Fabergé Celtic Egg has been crafted in Germany, overseen by Fabergé enamel Workmaster Dr. Marcus Mohr. Crafted from 18k yellow gold, the eggs feature our legendary guilloché enamel in a pale green; the green, white and gold colours of the egg symbolise the Irish flag. Guilloché enamelling is a time-honoured technique which combines the art of engraving using an engine-turning machine combined with hot enamel which is hand-painted onto a surface in a series of layers to produce a shimmering liquid silk effect. This rare artform is a signature of ours, practised by only a select few expert craftspeople around the world.
The seven unique eggs are set with a pavé diamond Celtic knot, a renowned symbol of Irish heritage which has no start or finish, representing eternity, love and friendship, and frames a coloured gemstone at its centre. Each of the seven eggs features a different gemstone on its exterior: Gemfields Zambian emerald, Gemfields Mozambican ruby, blue sapphire, amethyst, rhodolite, spessartite or tourmaline, representing each of the seven locations, from The Blarney Stone to the Giant’s Causeway, and its rich Irish mythology. A matching cabochon coloured gemstone is also set on top of the egg, which itself is mounted on a beautiful hand-carved and polished rock crystal plinth with gold base.
In true Fabergé spirit, a surprise awaits inside each egg, in the form of a rough, uncut Zambian emerald responsibly mined by Gemfields, presented on a gold guilloché base with intricate claw setting. This is the first time in our history that the we have featured a surprise of this kind. It invites collectors to further customise the creation by commissioning us to convert the beautiful rough emerald as part of a bespoke set or piece of jewellery. Emeralds are 20 times more rare than colourless diamonds, and aptly are believed to symbolise hope, growth and fresh starts.
In addition to the whiskey and unique Fabergé Celtic Egg, each edition of 'The Emerald Isle’ features another ultimate collectors’ item, a bespoke one-of-a-kind Fabergé Altruist 18k rose gold timepiece with a self-winding movement from Vaucher Manufacture. Each piece has a unique dial, inspired by the landscape of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’. Hand-decorated by our Workmaster André Martinez, a specialist in decorating exquisite watch dials, the white mother of pearl face has been skilfully etched and hand-painted with 24k gold flakes. The case backs on each piece are dedicated to The Craft Irish Whisky Co. with the addition of the CIWC logo and 1/1 engraved to signify the uniqueness. The timepiece is finished with a brown alligator strap which complements the design perfectly.
Josina von dem Bussche-Kessell, Creative Director at Fabergé, said: “This is a thrilling partnership for Fabergé, as it sees us continuing our legacy of creating unique and collectable objects, bridging the gap between historic legacy and modern-day heirlooms. Rare whiskey has seen tremendous investor attention, and the whiskey market is undergoing a dynamic evolution. It is very exciting for Fabergé to participate in such a cross-pollination of luxury sectors, thereby adding a contemporary twist on age old traditions.”
