Fabergé, the return of a famous name

The name Fabergé forever connects Russia with sublime works of jewellery. For many decades the famous maker of those iconic imperial Easter eggs and other exquisite works of art seemed destined for the annals of history. Now, as Russia regains its confidence and dynamism it is only fitting that the long absence has come to an end…

A descendant of French Huguenots who had fled their homeland to Germany and later to the then Russian province of Livonia, Peter Carl Fabergé drew on the long-established French flair for design and craftsmanship to create a jewellery dynasty that would become quintessentially Russian. As the makers of some of the most exquisite pieces of jewellery in the world, the Fabergé name and its treasure of intricately detailed works of gold and stones both precious and semi-precious would eventually pass into Russia’s cultural and artistic heritage.

Fabergé pieces stood at a lonely pinnacle at the beginning of the 20th century, when the fabled brand was at its peak. However, the luxury, opulence and above all privilege of class symbolised by Fabergé came to be completely out of sync in post-revolution Russia. In the Soviet Union there was no place for a manufacturer of this kind, and Fabergé was allowed to quietly die away.

Such a sudden disappearance left an eager market bewildered and hungry for more. Just as with the death of a famous artist the sudden demise of the house of Fabergé meant that no more pieces were produced – and Fabergé collections rocketed in value almost overnight. Since then, the knowledge that no more authentic Fabergé jewellery would ever be made again ensured that the original pieces became almost priceless to collectors the world over. Not surprisingly, a large proportion of Fabergé’s oeuvre found its way abroad.

In an era where the pull of legendary brands from the past remains extremely powerful in spite of our focus on all things modern and technology-based, it would only be a matter of time before this Rolls Royce of the jewellery world was revived. In 2007 the seemingly inevitable happened, and Fabergé was reborn as a luxury jewellery maker once more dedicated to creating the most exquisite pieces available. The unusual fact in this is that it was revived by South Africans, not Russians.

Now, with the firm intention of re-establishing Fabergé where it belongs, at the very pinnacle of the luxury goods market, its new owners have assembled an international team of some calibre. The timing, now Russia is rediscovering both its confidence and pre-revolution roots, coincides with a growing global market for top-end luxury products – and Fabergé’s latest range of gorgeous pieces certainly does the famous name proud.

www.faberge.com

New post on at Wednesday, 10 February, 2010, 9:31 am and is archived in Art, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Luxury. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.