The World of Fabergé
In 1882, Peter Carl Fabergé took over his father’s jewellery business and, together with his younger brother Agathon, quickly turned it into an internationally recognised brand. Their success changed the direction of the jewellery world. The time when diamonds, emeralds, sapphire, rubies and pearls dominated taste was ending. In their place came design-focused jewellery and decorative objects that highlighted natural coloured semi-precious stones and Fabergé’s newly revived, highly refined enamelling techniques.
The legendary Easter eggs created for the Russian Imperial family are widely regarded as the height of jewellery craftsmanship. Alongside traditional jewellery, Fabergé offered clients objets de luxe, including the more playful objets de fantaisie. Today, these pieces are held in major museums around the world and in the private collections of royal families. Fabergé’s craftsmen reached remarkable levels of skill. The combination of original design and flawless technical execution became the signature formula that makes any Fabergé creation an exceptional gift — an object of desire that is hard to resist.
1685-1830
The ancestors of the Fabergé family — then bearing the name Favry — came from Picardy in northern France, centred around Amiens. The Favry family were Huguenots (Protestants) in a predominantly Catholic country. In 1685, when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had granted legal protection to Huguenots, the Favrys were forced to flee north-eastwards to Protestant regions of Europe.
For many years, the descendants of the emigrant family lived in Germany, in Schwedt-on-Oder — where, in 1768, Pierre Favry, Carl Fabergé’s grandfather, was born. Over time, the pronunciation of the family name evolved: Favry, Fabrier, and later, in a Germanic form, Faberge. It is known that in the 1790s the cabinetmaker Peter Fabrier settled in Pernau (now Pärnu) in the Livonian Governorate of the Russian Empire, where he soon adopted the surname Faberge.
Gustav Faberge, the son of Peter Faberge, was born in Pernau (now Pärnu) in 1814. He chose the profession of a jeweller and, in the 1830s, moved to St Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. He first worked under Andreas Spiegel, a master known for gold snuffboxes and jewellery caskets and later joined the celebrated firm of Keibel, the supplier of jewellery Later, Gustav joined the celebrated firm of Keibel — the supplier of jewellery and cabinet goldwork to the Russian Imperial family. This marked the beginning of what would become the legendary House of Fabergé.
The Foundation laid
1842
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In 1842, Gustav Faberge married Charlotte Jungstedt, the daughter of the artist Carl Jungstedt, and opened a small workshop and jewellery shop on Bolshaya Morskaya Street — one of St Petersburg’s most fashionable addresses. The shop was first located in the basement of Paul Jacques’s house, but ten years later, the business moved across the street to the newly built Ruadze House — now it is Bolshaya Morskaya 18. It was at this time that Gustav changed the spelling of his surname to Fabergé: in Russian, “ge” is pronounced “zhe”, placing the stress on the final syllable gave the name a distinctly French sound.
the formative years
1846 - 1882
The couple’s elder son, Peter Carl Fabergé (known within the family simply as Carl), was born soon afterwards. He received his early education at the Annenschule in St Petersburg. In the early 1860s the family moved to Dresden, where Agathon, Gustav Fabergé’s second son, was born in 1862. Carl studied at the Handelsschule until the summer of 1863. While living in Dresden, he frequently visited the Grünes Gewölbe — the museum founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong, based on the treasury of the princely House of Wettin.
1863 - 1867
In 1863-64, Carl Fabergé set out on an educational journey — the traditional Grand Tour of Europe. He trained with respected jewellers in Germany, France and Britain, including Friedmann in Frankfurt am Main and the Schlöss firm in Paris. He then spent four months in Florence, where he studied the collections of Europe’s leading art museums. After returning to St Petersburg, Carl was granted access, from 1867 onwards, to the Treasury Gallery of the Imperial Hermitage — the museum founded by Catherine II. There he worked on the repair and restoration of historic jewels, studying pieces ranging from Scythian gold antiquities to the refined French snuffboxes of the eighteenth century. This experience enabled him to master and refine traditional jewellery techniques. The masterpieces of earlier centuries undoubtedly inspired Carl Fabergé’s future creations. His mentor in the craft was Peter Hiskias Pendin, the leading master in Gustav Fabergé’s workshop.
1872
In 1872, Carl Fabergé married Augusta Julia Jacobs, the daughter of the court cabinetmaker Gottlieb Jacobs. Shortly after his eldest son’s marriage, Gustav Fabergé retired from the business and settled permanently in Dresden, where he died in 1894. From that point onwards, the firm was headed by Carl Fabergé, who continued to rely on the guidance of Peter Pendin.
PETER CARL FABERGÉ TAKES CHARGE
1882
In 1882, at the All-Russian Exhibition in Moscow, Fabergé’s works were awarded a gold medal. Emperor Alexander III, who had ascended the throne in 1881, saw the pieces at the exhibition and ordered that they be shown in the Hermitage as exemplary works by outstanding Russian jewellers. In the same year, following the death of Peter Pendin, Carl Fabergé summoned his younger brother Agathon from Dresden to join the family firm.
THE RISE OF THE HOUSE OF FABERGÉ
1885 - 1887
In 1885, Alexander III conceived the idea of an Easter gift for the Empress in the form of a jewelled egg: a gold egg covered in enamel, containing a surprise in the shape of a golden hen, a diamond-set crown and a small ruby pendant-egg. The Emperor asked his brother, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, to negotiate the commission with Carl Fabergé. The Imperial couple were delighted with the result, and from that moment the tradition of ordering Easter eggs from Fabergé was established. It continued under Alexander III’s son, Nicholas II, who commissioned two eggs each year — one for his mother and one for his wife. In total, the House of Fabergé created fifty Imperial Easter eggs, each with a unique design. In the same year, Fabergé was granted the honorary title of Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty.
In 1887, the Moscow branch of the House of Fabergé opened at 5 Kuznetsky Most. Its first director was Oscar Pihl, the son-in-law of August Holmström, one of the firm’s leading workmasters.
1888 - 1890
In 1888, the House of Fabergé presented its masterpieces at the Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen — once again hors concours, as the jury included Eugene, Carl Fabergé’s eldest son. The company was awarded a special diploma of the exhibition.
In 1890, the firm’s headquarters in St Petersburg doubled in size. Carl Fabergé was appointed Appraiser to the Imperial Court, an official recognition of his outstanding expertise. In the same year, in Moscow, he purchased a silverware factory located in the San-Galli building. The unified Moscow branch was placed under the direction of Allan Bowe, while Oscar Pihl continued to head the jewellery workshop.
INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM
1900 - 1902
In 1900, the House of Fabergé took part in the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where the Imperial Easter eggs were presented to the public for the first time. Despite exhibiting hors concours, the maison received a gold medal. The jury recognised Carl Fabergé as a master of the highest order and appointed him a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, the foremost honour of the French Republic. His son Eugene was awarded the Palmes Académiques, marking him an Officer of the Academy of Fine Arts, while the firm’s leading workmasters received gold and silver medals. The exhibition brought considerable commercial success, expanding Fabergé’s international clientele and generating commissions from across the world.
Fabergé’s St Petersburg headquarters relocated to a dedicated purpose-built building at 24 Bolshaya Morskaya Street, owned by Carl Fabergé. Designed by Carl Schmidt — a relative of the family — the neo-Gothic building, clad in Karelian granite, stands to this day. It housed the workshops, an art studio, administrative offices, a unique art library, and the family’s spacious private apartment.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the House of Fabergé was at the height of its fame. It had become the largest jewellery firm in the Russian Empire, employing around five hundred artists and craftsmen. In 1902, the first public exhibition of Fabergé objects in Russia was held at the St Petersburg mansion of Baron von Dervis. It featured exceptional objets de vertu belonging to the Imperial family — including, for the first time before a Russian audience, twenty-two Imperial Easter eggs created between 1885 and 1901. To this day, it remains the largest exhibition of Fabergé jewels and objects ever assembled.
1903 - 1906
In the early years of the twentieth century, the House of Fabergé saw rapid expansion. In 1900, the firm opened a branch in Odessa — comprising both a workshop and a boutique — under the direction of Allan Gibson. In 1903, a London branch followed, with Allan Bowe, Fabergé’s business partner, as its first manager. In 1906, a further branch was established in Kyiv, on the city’s main thoroughfare, Khreshchatyk.
Later, when the London branch of the House of Fabergé was re-opened, it was placed under the management of Nicholas, the youngest of Carl Fabergé’s four sons. The other three also worked for the family enterprise: the elder brothers, Eugene and Agathon, in the St Petersburg headquarters, and Alexander — notably a talented artist — in the Moscow branch.
By this time, the honours bestowed upon the firm had grown considerably. To the title of Court Jeweller to the Russian Imperial Court, granted by Nicholas II, and Court Jeweller to the Royal House of Sweden and Norway, were added the distinction of Court Jeweller to the British Royal Court, conferred by George V, and the title of Court Jeweller to the King of Siam, awarded by King Chulalongkorn. Carl Fabergé and representatives of the firm made regular visits to the Kingdom of Siam from 1905 onwards, at the invitation of Prince Chakrabon of Phitsanulok, a graduate of the Page Corps in St Petersburg.
1908 - 1914
During these years, the House of Fabergé reached the height of its success. The most elaborate and artistically accomplished Imperial Easter eggs were created, along with major commissions for the tercentenary celebrations of the Romanov Dynasty and an increasingly active expansion into international markets. The firm also acquired the stone-carving workshop of Carl Werfel and the jewellery enterprise of Feodor Lorié.
WAR AND REVOLUTION
1914 - 1918
The First World War forced the House of Fabergé to redirect much of its production towards the needs of the front. In St Petersburg, the firm manufactured syringes, while in Moscow it produced primer sockets for artillery shells — a measure by which Carl Fabergé sought to protect his craftsmen and workers from being drafted. Even so, many talented masters went to war; among those lost was one of the firm’s finest stone-carvers, Peter Derbychev.
Amid the country’s growing economic instability, Carl Fabergé decided to restructure the business as the “Partnership of K. Fabergé”, dividing the firm into 600 registered shares, each valued at 5,000 roubles, for a total capital of three million roubles. At the same time, the London branch was closed, and the remaining shares were sold to the Parisian jeweller Lacloche.
After the February Revolution of 1917, many of Petrograd’s wealthiest residents entrusted their jewels to the House of Fabergé, which possessed the most secure safe in the city. Following the October Revolution, an attempt was made to protect the company by leasing the building at 24 Bolshaya Morskaya Street to the Swiss mission. This proved unsuccessful, and in September 1918 Carl Fabergé left Russia forever.
THE FABERGÉS FLEE
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1918-1920
In November, Peter Carl Fabergé left St Petersburg on the last diplomatic train for Riga from where he fled to Germany. In December, Eugène together with his mother, travelled in darkness by sleigh and on foot to Finland. The Bolsheviks imprisoned Agathon and Alexander, the Fabergés’ two middle sons.
In June 1920, Eugène travelled to Germany to take his father to Switzerland where other members of the family had taken refuge. Peter Carl Fabergé died in Pully (near Lausanne) in September. -
1924
Eugène, together with his brother Alexander (who had managed to escape from the USSR when a friend bribed guards) settled in Paris. They establish Fabergé & Cie, which traded in and re-stored objects made by the House of Fabergé, as well as general jewellery and objets d’art. The pieces they made were clearly marked Fabergé, Paris so as to avoid any confusion with items made by the House in Russia.
THE FAMILY LOSES ITS NAME
1937
Sam Rubin, an American of Russian descent, started a perfume business. Upon the suggestion of his friend Dr Armand Hammer, who at the behest of Lenin became the Soviets’ first foreign concessionaire, branded his perfumes Fabergé and formed Fabergé Inc. This was done without the family’s permission.
1951
After discovering Rubin’s activities, the Fabergé family decided to settle out of court so as to avoid high legal fees. Rubin paid just US$25,000 to use their name solely for perfume.
1964 - 1989
Samuel Rubin sold Fabergé Inc to George Barrie’s cosmetic company Rayette for US$26 million. The combined company was called Rayette-Fabergé Inc. In 1971 the company’s name reverted to Fabergé Inc. in 1984 Fabergé Inc was sold for US$180 million, three years later Fabergé Inc acquired Elizabeth Arden for US$700 million.
In 1989 Unilever bought Fabergé Inc (including Elizabeth Arden) for US$1.55 billion. Noting that Sam Rubin had registered the name for jewellery in 1946, it registered the Fabergé name as a trademark across a wide range of merchandise internationally and granted licenses to third parties to produce a wide range of products under the Fabergé name. Additionally it changed the name of a subsidiary from Lever Brothers Limited to Lever Fabergé Limited, meaning that the name associated with Imperial Eggs appeared on a domestic cleaning range for use in lavatories, blocked drains, cleaning kitchen and bathrooms as well as washing machines.
1990
In 1990 Victor Mayer GmbH began their relationship with Fabergé, becoming official workmasters.
Victor Mayer (1857 – 1946), company founder, embodied both talent and interests, with these passed on from generation to generation in the 128-year history of the company. Mayer was an artist and art lover. From the very beginning, his focus lay on high-quality design. He had taste, enthusiasm and passion. For him, skilled craftsmanship was the decisive standard for quality and he had an infallible aptitude for finding the zeitgeist.
Under the guidance of the Mohr Family today, Dr. Marcus Mohr continues to use the old traditional techniques in jewellery making, engraving, gauche, enamelling and creating objects of art. Dr. Marcus Mohr has had a long association with the Fabergé brand and they previously made jewellery under license to both Unilever and Fabergé, however this license terminated in 2008.
The company still create pieces for Fabergé today as workmasters rather than as licensees. We are delighted that this collaboration continues today.
THE RELAUNCH
2007
Fabergé Limited announces that it acquired the Fabergé trademarks, licenses and associated rights relating to the Fabergé name from Unilever. The Fabergé name is reunited with the Fabergé family. The Fabergé Heritage Council is established to guide the company in its pursuit of Fabergé’s original heritage of excellence in creativity, design and craftsmanship.
2009
At 9am on September 9th 2009 (09.09.09), Fabergé is re-launched with the introduction of the ‘Les Fabuleuses’ High Jewellery collection. By 31st December 2012, all the licenses granted to third parties had lapsed or been terminated and the name no longer appeared on cleaning products.
2011
Mario Testino shoots his first campaign for Fabergé starring the Russian- Lithuanian model Bee Gee as the embodiment of modern Fabergé - fusing Russian and Western cultures, past and present. This is the first Fabergé advertising campaign, capturing the brand’s glamour and storytelling. It launches in the December issues of the major glossy titles in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and the US.
2012
Paying tribute to the legendary Imperial Eggs, Fabergé launches the inaugural Big Egg Hunt, which sets two Guinness World Records and raises over $1.5 million for the Action for Children, and Elephant Family charities. 200 uniquely crafted giant eggs decorated by the likes of the Chapman Brothers, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon, Zandra Rhodes, Diane von Furstenberg, Sophie Dahl and Polly Morgan are hidden across London throughout Lent for the public to hunt as many as possible.
Fabergé opens its first New York boutique on Madison Avenue.
2013
Gemfields’, a world leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, acquires Fabergé with the aim to create a “globally recognised coloured gemstone champion”, building on Fabergé’s status as a “global brand with an exceptional heritage”.
Gemfields specialises in the mining and marketing of emeralds and rubies from some of the finest sources in the world. They are proud of their leadership position and continually work to improve the awareness and delivery of sustainability within the industry all the way through to the end consumer.
Gemfields’goal is to operate in a way that contributes positively to national economies, takes a leading role in modernising the coloured gemstone sector and builds lasting, sustainable livelihoods for the communities surrounding their mines.
Fabergé introduces the Colours of Love Collection, renewing the Fabergé love of coloured gemstones, artistic ingenuity and craftsmanship. The collection celebrates special events and memorable moments with gemstone-set engagement, anniversary and celebratory rings.
For the first time in over a century, Fabergé returns to Ukraine, opening a stand-alone boutique in the luxury shopping district at the heart of Kiev.
2014
Fabergé celebrates Easter at Harrods with a salon and exhibition space set up in the luxury store and the famed Brompton Road windows dressed in Fabergé flags. The exhibition includes an original Fabergé Egg – The Apple Blossom Egg designed in 1901, together with other treasures that have never been displayed outside a museum. The salon houses one-of-a-kind, collectible pieces designed for Fabergé by Parisian artist jeweller Frédéric Zaavy and sold in tribute to him.
A scrap metal dealer in the US discovers that the curious golden objet he had bought for $15000 intending to melt down for scrap is in fact the long lost third Faberge Imperial Easter Egg - Tsar Alexander III's 1887 Easter gift to his wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The egg is on an elaborate gold stand supported by lion paw feet with three sapphires on golden garlands and a Vacheron Constantin watch inside. According to our information, the Egg was sold to the ruling family of Qatar for $7 million.
Fabergé’s second Big Egg Hunt sees over 260 large egg sculptures, designed by the likes of Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin, Ralph Lauren, Zaha Hadid, Nathan Sawaya, and Peter Beard, among others, placed throughout New York at the start of April to support Elephant Family and Studio in a School, a program that brings visual arts to New York City’s public schools.
Inspired by the Diamond Trellis Egg, created by Fabergé in 1892, the Treillage Collection of multi-coloured rings feature diamonds, blue sapphires, pink sapphires, tsavorites, fire opals, amethysts and rubies in evocative designs.
A scrap metal dealer in the US discovers that the curious golden objet he had bought for $500 intending to melt down for scrap is in fact the long lost third Faberge Imperial Easter Egg - Tsar Alexander III's 1887 Easter gift to his wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The egg is on an elaborate gold stand supported by lion paw feet with three sapphires on golden garlands and a Vacheron Constantin watch inside. The Egg sold for $33 million at auction and the dealer chose to remain anonymous.
Fabergé’s second Big Egg Hunt sees over 260 large egg sculptures, designed by the likes of Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin, Ralph Lauren, Zaha Hadid, Nathan Sawaya, and Peter Beard, among others, placed throughout New York at the start of April to support Elephant Family and Studio in a School, a program that brings visual arts to New York City’s public schools.
Inspired by the Diamond Trellis Egg, created by Fabergé in 1892, the Treillage Collection of multi-coloured rings feature diamonds, blue sapphires, pink sapphires, tsavorites, fire opals, amethysts and rubies in evocative designs.
2015
Fabergé’s first fine watch collection is unveiled– the Fabergé Flirt, Compliquée Peacock, Fabergé Visionnaire and Summer in Provence. The Compliquée Peacock wins the Grand Prix D’Horlogerie de Genève in the Hi-Mechanical category. Inspired by the Imperial Easter Egg made in 1908 for the Empress Marie – a carved, jewelled rock crystal egg hiding an intricately enamelled gold peacock – Aurélie Picard and Geneva-based master watchmaker Agenhor design a revolutionary timepiece using peacock feathers to measure the minutes passing.
The Secret Garden High Jewellery collection launches with floral jewels evoking Russian artist Marc Chagall’s effusive bouquets. Peter Carl Fabergé's
flower studies in rock crystal vases are amongst his most celebrated creations. Fabergé's craftsmen also work directly from nature, capturing blossoming flowers in carved hardstone, enamel and gold with emeralds, padparadscha sapphires and raspberry rubies, surrounded by pink spinels, mint tourmalines, tanzanites, moonstones and opals.
The Fabergé Pearl Egg is the first hand crafted egg in the Imperial tradition since the Russian Revolution - was crafted in collaboration with Qatari businessman and pearl collector Hussain Ibrahim Al-Fardan. The Pearl Egg’s painstakingly-crafted mother-of-pearl exterior is adorned with 3,305 diamonds and 139 white pearls with a unique 12.17 carat natural grey pearl, sourced from the waters of the Arabian Gulf.
2016
In the year Fabergé opens its timepieces workshop in Geneva, the company wins the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in the Travel Time category with its Visionnaire DTZ Rose Gold timepiece, while Fabergé’s Lady Levity watch is shortlisted in the Ladies category. The Visionnaire DTZ uses a movement created for Fabergé by Agenhor with an imaginative way to display two time zones simultaneously. In true Fabergé style, the Visionnaire hides a secret peacock-shaped component within the movement, paying homage to Fabergé’s award-winning Compliquée Peacock watch.
Inspired by a Fabergé clock made over 100 years ago and rediscovered in the company’s archives, Fabergé launches the Dalliance collection, powered by a unique mechanical movement designed by Fabergé and Agenhor that allows the hands to travel around the edge of the watch face, leaving space on the dial for bespoke designs.
2017
2017 marks both the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and the 175th anniversary of the founding of Fabergé in 1842. With perfect timing, Fabergé’s rebirth is further recognised when Aurélie Picaud, Fabergé global timepieces director, wins Woman of the Year and Eve’s Watch Awards for her success in developing and launching timepiece collections in partnership with leading Swiss workmaster, and winning two Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève Awards in just three years.
The Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas, hosts one of the world’s largest private collections of Fabergé creations so the city proves the ideal place for Fabergé’s next international boutique. The museum’s collection includes the Nobel Ice Egg, the Kelch Rocaille Egg, a tiara, picture frames, decorative boxes, and delicate jewellery. The boutique is decorated in rose gold, with Fabergé’s trademark guilloché translated into the delicate interlaced chandelier glass. Located in the jewellery corridor in Houston’s elegant Galleria, just a few doors down from Saks Fifth Avenue, the boutique hosts one-of-a-kind creations, contemporary fine jewellery and innovative timepieces.
2018
For the first time in either company’s history, Fabergé and Rolls-Royce collaborate on an extraordinary one-off commission: The Spirit of Ecstasy Egg. The Imperial-style Egg – only the second Imperial Class egg to be commissioned since 1917 - conceals a hand-sculpted statue of the legendary Rolls-Royce mascot nestling inside, revealed with a simple discreet click.
In November, Fabergé launches its latest store in Dubai Fashion Avenue at the Dubai Mall, surrounded by haute couture and international designer brands. The launch party sees an exhibition of rare pieces unveiled for an audience of select clients, media and royalty.
2019
Fabergé’s spring advertising campaign, shot during brief pauses in bidding by expert gem photographer Casey Moore at Gemfields’ ruby auction in Singapore, features Fabergé timepieces, lockets and rings alongside Gemfields’ uncut gemstones – showcasing the beauty of these gemstones in their natural state. Rubies from Gemfields’ Montepuez Ruby Mine in Mozambique and emeralds from Gemfields’ Kagem Mine in Zambia are responsibly mined – with proceeds from auctions helping build schools, mobile health clinics and projects to establish improved livelihoods for thousands of families.
Fabergé’s global expansion focuses on Europe, with points of sale opening up in Venice, home of the Murano glass workshops that inspired Peter Carl Fabergé’s crimson purpurine glass, as well as prestigious locations in Porto Cervo and St Tropez.
Gemfields, the world’s largest responsibly sourced gemstone supplier and Fabergé’s owner, takes part in Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index, exploring the increasing value of coloured gemstones currently outperforming the wider jewellery market in 2019. The Index concludes that record-breaking auctions of emerald and sapphire jewellery alongside a threefold rise in ruby prices is fuelling coloured gemstones increasing popularity with investors and collectors.
With the move to new, spacious offices in London Victoria, Fabergé opens a new By Appointment Salon where customers can meet the company’s top designers and work with them to personalise their own bespoke Fabergé jewellery.
2025
Fabergé Ltd. has been sold to SMG Capital, a U.S. investment firm owned by London-based tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Sergei Mosunov.
“Fabergé’s unique heritage, with ties to Russia, England, France, and the U.S., opens significant opportunities to strengthen its position in the global luxury market and expand its international presence,” Mosunov said in a statement. “As Carl Fabergé once noted, ‘There is no point in gems if you cannot turn them into a story.’ We feel both a deep sense of responsibility and profound inspiration for the work ahead.”