At Auctionhouse de Ruiter, a number of beautiful Fabergé jewellery and objects are auctioned at every jewellery auction. Jewellery and objects with an Imperial history that almost everyone has heard of. There may not be such a coveted Fabergé Egg. However, countless other smaller pieces of jewellery or objects from the house of Fabergé are available to the general public during the auctions through a competitive starting price.
Fabergé jewellery and objects are very popular because of the story behind it. The jewellery in circulation from the Heritage collection, for example, reflects everything about this story. Think of necklaces with a miniature Fabergé Egg which is beautifully finished down to the smallest details. This type of jewellery is offered by Auctionhouse de Ruiter and offers you a real opportunity to become the proud owner of it.
Have you also become interested in buying Fabergé jewellery and objects? Then take part in our online auction or visit the auction house in Klaaswaal.
To inform you even more, this page extensively goes into the history of this beautiful brand with iconic jewellery.
Fabergé History – The Imperial Jeweller from Russia
Fabergé is a jewellery house, which has its origins in Russia. Fabergé was once the Imperial jeweller for the Russian Court and the Tsar was their most loyal customer. The jeweller is of course known for the beautiful Fabergé eggs, which are very popular and are hammered at international auctions for a lot of money. They can also be found in a number of well-known museums.
However, Fabergé is not just history because the company is still active and makes jewellery, no longer from Russia, but still loyal to the DNA of the founder. And actually it is more than a jeweller’s house, Fabergé is a legend.
The beginning of the Fabergé legend
Although the house Fabergé has its origins in Russia, the name sounds rather French to many people and that sometimes causes confusion. However, the roots of the artisan family are in France, in the Picardie region in the north of France. The family name was originally Favri and they were Huguenots (French Protestants) in especially very Catholic France.
However, there was at that time the Edict of Nantes that offered Huguenots protection in France, but this was abolished by Louis XIV so the Fabergé’s, still at that time called Favri, had fled. They went northeast and eventually ended around the year 1800 in Pärnu , Livonia, which is now Estonia. The name had already changed a few times from Favri , Favry , Fabrier to Fabergé.
Gustav Fabergé, born in 1814, left further east and went to St. Petersburg, which was the capital of Russia at that time. He wanted to learn the trade of goldsmithing and became an apprentice to Andreas Spiegel, a specialist in the manufacture of gold boxes. Later, however, he continued his training at the Keibel firm who were goldsmiths and jewellers at the Imperial Russian court.
After having learned enough, Gustav Fabergé wanted to work independently and in 1842 he opened a small jewellery shop with home-made jewellery in St. Petersburg. Gustav also married Charlotte Jungste shortly afterwards and they had a son together; Peter Carl Fabergé.
In 1860 Gustav Fabergé thought it was time to take a step back and left for Dresden to find peace in his life. He kept the company but left the management to others he trusted well.
In Dresden their second son Agathon was born and son Peter Carl Fabergé attended the Arts and Crafts School in Dresden and regularly visited the Grünes Gewölbe museum, which has the largest collection of art treasures in Europe. This is where Peter Carl probably got the inspiration for the later so famous Fabergé eggs. His fascination with art also led him on a tour through Europe visiting the most beautiful art museums, galleries and the best goldsmiths in Germany, France and England.
After this trip, Peter Carl returned to the home of the family business, St. Petersburg. There he married Augusta Jacobs and went on to learn and work in the company. He made the catalogues, carried out repairs and restored pieces from the prestigious Hermitage museum. In this way he could also study old goldsmith techniques and gain inspiration from them. He was good at restoration work and therefore also started to restore objects such as enamelled boxes and gold snuff boxes from private individuals.
In the meantime, Agathon was also in the company and Peter Carl visited the Pan-Russian exhibition in Moscow together with Agathon, where he received a gold medal for his work. As a result, he was noticed by the Russian Imperial Court and three years later the title purveyor to the court would follow for him. The beginning of the legend Fabergé and the beginning of the famous Fabergé eggs, the first of which were made in the same year for the Russian Imperial Court.
Fabergé and Imperial and Royal crafts far beyond the borders
Fabergé ‘s reputation was no longer limited to Russia alone, the Royal Houses of Norway and Sweden also awarded him the title of Purveyor to the Royal Household in 1897 and regularly ordered jewellery and objects from the master goldsmith of St. Petersburg.
And that cross-border work continued, for example, in 1900 he was sent by Tsar Nicholas II to Paris to represent Russian craft at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He exhibited miniature replicas of the Russian Crown Jewels there, which became a huge success. He even received a gold medal and was included in the Legion d’Honneur.
This was followed by openings of international boutiques such as London in 1903 and Kiev in 1906. Peter Carl’s son even went on to run the London location.
However, all that success came to an abrupt and unpredictable end with the First World War that broke out in 1914.
The demand for beautiful objects and high-quality jewellery fell sharply and Peter Carl Fabergé decided to sell his shares in the company to his employees in order to escape the chaos of the October revolution in Russia himself. He ended up in Wiesbaden via Riga and Berlin and eventually died in Lausanne in 1920 and was buried in Cannes.
The house of Fabergé went further, though in a slightly different way in the First World War. Copper articles were mainly produced because of a shortage of precious metals. The articles were also mainly household items such as plates, mugs and snuff boxes, but articles for the army were also manufactured at Fabergé at that time. Shortly afterwards, it would be appropriated by the Soviet state as was the case with all companies in Russia at the time.
After turbulent times, the sons of Peter Carl Fabergé decided ; Eugene and Alexander, who had now ended up in Paris, to make a new start for the house and open a Fabergé & Cie boutique in the French capital. The jewellery and objects made in the Paris studio were stamped Fabergé , Paris so that no confusion could arise between Russian-made objects and jewellery and those of French origin.
In 1937, Sam Rubin , an American of Russian descent, started a perfume line under the name Fabergé Inc. without the family’s consent. Once the family realized this, they wanted to file a lawsuit against him, but then Rubin himself came up with a proposal to buy the rights of the family for a large sum of money that the family eventually accepted.
The name went to other owners many times and has even been owned by Unilever, which sold household products under the name. The shop in Paris continued, but it did not receive as much attention as the house had before.
However, the old Fabergé pieces, including the famous eggs, remained popular with the world’s wealthy and were often sold at auctions for large amounts. The old jewellery was also passed by at auctions and was still very popular, so the reputation was not completely lost.
A new start for Fabergé
In 1990, something special happened, the German jeweller Victor Mayer from Pforzheim started a special relationship with Fabergé & Cie and was given the exclusive rights to produce Fabergé eggs, watches and jewellery in gold, platinum and with gemstones, enamelling and diamonds. In collaboration with Fabergé expert Geza von Habsburg, he developed new designs for the eggs and jewellery and the pieces successfully re-entered the global market. Fabergé made a new start, as it were.
The rights for the Fabergé inc. where all kinds of products bore the name was bought back from Unilever and then could again be used completely for jewellery without damage to the reputation of other products. Victor Mayer, who meant a lot for the return to the world stage of the Fabergé house , relinquished the rights to jewellery in 2009 and in 2012 to watches.
After a short silence in the Fabergé area , the brewery nevertheless returned to life and in March 2010 the house opened a boutique in Geneva and the house continued to offer high-quality jewellery. In 2011 there was again a link to the famous eggs, but this time in miniature. The eggs were now made in the form of pendants on a chain and were even sold successfully in the exclusive London department store Harrods.
Fabergé eventually opened another boutique in London and not much later in New York. The house Fabergé is back on the world stage also with new jewellery and the old objects and jewellery have never really left. Every appraiser, auctioneer or auction enthusiast is still enthusiastic when a Fabergé piece comes along.
In addition to an extensive range of jewellery, the house Fabergé nowadays also has a very special and high-quality watch collection and objects are also made and offered by the house.
Fabergé , the Fabergé eggs
The famous Fabergé eggs were first made in 1882 after the Imperial Russian family at the Pan-Russian exposition where Peter Carl Fabergé showed a replica of a fourth century bracelet by Benvenuto Cellini that is in the Hermitage museum. Emperor Alexander III was so impressed by the detail of Fabergé ‘s work that he appointed him court jeweller.
One of the first assignments Fabergé received was to make an Imperial Easter Egg. Such an egg took at least a year to make because of all the details and the big amount of handwork. A total of 52 eggs were made for the Imperial Court, of which only 46 are still intact. It is therefore one of the most exclusive objects in the world and highly sought after when it appears at auction.
In 1990 Victor Mayer obtained the rights from Fabergé to produce jewellery, watches and eggs under the name Fabergé . Of course, the iconic eggs could not be missing and a small number of new eggs were produced.
These eggs are also occasionally passed by at international auctions and are hammered at a considerable price. Of course not comparable with the Imperial eggs, but still a considerable amount,
Not a single Fabergé product is the same and each piece has its own appearance and characteristic properties. However, we do see certain elements recurring such as enamel, gold, diamonds, gemstones and especially designs with a lot of colour. Often the eggs can open and there is a nicely made element of surprise on the inside.
The Heritage Collection from Fabergé
The Fabergé Heritage Collection is a new line of jewellery from the house Fabergé . The line consists of bracelets, necklaces with pendants, rings, earrings and even cufflinks. As the name of the line indicates, it is inspired by old designs of the house Fabergé.
Because it is inspired by old Fabergé designs , we see the famous Fabergé egg in almost every piece of jewellery in this collection . The eggs can be found in the most detailed way in the necklaces with pendants.
The pendants are actually miniature Fabergé eggs with beautiful enamel gold engraving, set with cut diamonds and to top it all off, they can also be opened just like the real Fabergé eggs and there is a surprise in them.
In the case of the pendants, each egg contains a different animal such as a monkey, a mouse, a chicken or a ladybug. There are also a few versions with an enamelled heart in it. The bracelets and earrings also show miniature Fabergé eggs, these cannot be opened, but are beautifully detailed.
On the rings we see flat motifs of Fabergé eggs with a similar detail. They are enamelled, the gold is engraved and cut diamonds have been set on them. With the cufflinks we do see the shape of the eggs, but they are slightly less detailed.
All jewellery is made of precious metals; gold (white, yellow and rose), silver or platinum.
Imperial Collection from Fabergé
The Fabergé Imperial Collection is a new jewellery collection from the house Fabergé . The collection consists of bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces that are designed in a wide variety. All designs have one thing in common and that is that they are inspired by the relationship that the house Fabergé had with the Russian Imperial Court.
The jewellery all have the typical Fabergé DNA and therefore contain a lot of colour. We see designs of jewellery that Fabergé made for the Russian Imperial Court, but also the famous Fabergé eggs are reflected in this collection. Some of them very detailed and some very abstract. The eggs in this collection are not enamelled as they are in the Heritage collection, but Fabergé has also succeeded in realizing the detailing with diamonds and coloured gemstones .
One piece that stands out in particular is the wide Crown Ring. It is made from a base of white gold that is curved into various ornaments that are completely set with diamonds. Between the diamonds you can find a few beautifully cut rubies and on top an oval cut ruby shines that is a bit larger.
The pieces in this collection can be recognized from a distance as being from the house of Fabergé .
Fabergé Rococo Collection
The Fabergé Rococo Collection is a new jewellery collection from the house Fabergé . The collection consists of earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings, all designed in the unmistakable Rococo style. A style that often inspired Peter Carl Fabergé for the creation of his objects and jewellery.
The Rococo is a European style period that had its peak between 1730 and 1760. The name comes from the French word rocaille, which is an asymmetrical shell motif that was often used in the 18th century baroque. The style originated in France and Italy, but is used throughout Europe in art objects, architecture and therefore also in jewellery. Peter Carl Fabergé was particularly inspired by it to make jewellery. Incidentally, some influence of the Rococo style can be discovered in some of the Fabergé eggs.
In the Fabergé Rococo Collection we clearly see the style because the rocaille is used in virtually every piece of jewellery. The precious metals for this collection, such as rose and yellow gold, are bent into those shapes and processed into rings, bracelets, necklaces or earrings. The rocaille shapes are often set with beautifully cut diamonds or coloured gemstones, although there are also a few jewellery without gemstones that are more abstract.
Fabergé, Treillage Collection
The Fabergé Treillage Collection is a jewellery collection from the house Fabergé . The collection consists of bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings that are all inspired by one of Fabergé ‘s Imperial Easter Eggs, namely the Diamond Trellis egg made in 1892.
The original Diamond Trellis egg is one of 52 eggs made for the Imperial Russian Court. The egg was a gift from Emperor Alexander III to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna . The egg is currently in a museum in the United States of America. The egg is made from jadeite , gold, and rose- cut diamonds. Inside the egg is of course the surprise which in this case is a very large cut diamond.
In the Fabergé Treillage collection we see that the jewellery is designed after the design of this egg. We also see miniature eggs that have the same cushion motif as what the Diamond Trellis egg has.
We also see this motif in other jewellery such as bracelets and rings that do not have miniature eggs in the design. Cut diamonds or coloured gemstones have been set at the points where the pads connect. All jewellery is made on the basis of rose, yellow or white gold.
Antique jewellery from Fabergé
Although the new Fabergé jewellery is very beautifully made, the older jewellery and especially the antique jewellery are still very popular. Again and again these pieces come by at international auctions or at the better antique jewellery stores worldwide.
In particular, the jewellery made between 1880 and 1914 is particularly valuable and beautifully made because it is considered the most beautiful period of the house. The pieces were made in Russia at the time. There are still quite a few pieces of jewellery from that time in circulation and especially the cufflinks are occasionally made and are also very beautiful and detailed. Naturally, the jewellery of that time also contained a lot of colour, as we are used to from Fabergé . If the piece is referred to as made in Russia, it is most likely from this period between 1880 and 1914.
There are also quite a few pieces of jewellery in circulation from the time that Fabergé was continued in Paris by Eugene and Alexander Fabergé. These jewellery are often made in the typical Fabergé DNA with a lot of colour and are very popular at auctions. These pieces are often labelled Fabergé, Paris and also made in France.
The period after that that Victor Mayer manufactured for the brand is certainly not inferior and at that time the jewellery was made in Germany, which is also marked on the pieces. At that time, some eggs were also produced that also show up at auctions every now and then.