The Other Fabergé Eggs

In addition to its recently launched Fabergé High Jewelry Egg Pendants, the jewelry house also unveiled a collection of smaller, less exclusive and less expensive fine jewelry egg pendants called, “Les Frissons De Faberge.” Prices reportedly start at $6,000.

More than 60 different designs are included in this collection of egg pendants, which like the larger more expensive jeweled egg pendants, reinterprets Peter Carl Fabergé’s iconic Fabergé themes, skills and artistry. While the jewelry house is known for its iconic Imperial Eggs created from 1885 till 1917, the majority of the jeweled eggs produced by Faberge during this period were miniature ones that were popular gifts at Easter.

The smaller eggs offer a choice of materials, techniques and styles such as carved stones and minerals, as varied as rock crystal, chrysoprase, snowflake obsidian, lavender jade, jadeite, pink opal, rutilated quartz, jasper and turquoise. There’s also a choice of quilted gold, brushed gold, engraved gold and colored gold in exotic red, pink, green, yellow and white enamels and lacquer, Rococo gold-work and pavé-set gems. 

For example, a cluster of Zénaïde egg lockets is inspired by traditional Uzbek textiles, their intricate geometric patterns set with precious gems.  

Each group of small fine jewelry egg pendants has its own story to tell, from the 18th century Rococo style favored by Peter Carl Fabergé, through the tales of the minerals and magical stone flowers of the fabled “Mistress of Copper Mountain,” to the gifts and presents that were an essential part of life at the Imperial Court.

The individual collections include Oeuf Cadeau, Oeuf Matelassé Empereur, in quilted gold, Oeuf Impératrice and Oeuf Impératrice Emeraude, with its lush emerald tassel, the Oeuf Rosa Cloisonné, with cloisonné enameled roses, Oeuf Rococo, Oeuf Barocco, Oeuf Sophia, Oeuf Nina, Oeuf Spirale, with dancing spiraling lines of gems, and Oeuf Pur, in simple, silky enamels.

Fabergé Unveils A New Egg Collection

The Train des Fleurs Egg

Fabergé recently unveiled its first collection of its High Jewelry Egg Pendants—the first such collection to bear the authentic Fabergé name since 1917.

The Diaghilev Egg

 

The collection pays homage to the legendary Imperial Eggs created by Peter Carl Fabergé for the Romanov family, the company said. The new collection is a celebration of the egg as a timeless universal symbol of life. Fabergé has designed a collection of 12 one-of-a-kind egg pendants, one for each month of the year, under the name, “Les Fameux de Fabergé.” Each egg illustrates a traditional Russian proverb, through complex, multi-layered concepts.

The Diamond Egg

The new creations were launched in Paris Friday during Haute Couture Week. Each egg will retail from $100,000 to $600,000. In addition, Fabergé, owned by investment company Pallinghurst Resources which purchased the brand from Unilever in 2007, said will work on private, personal commissions incorporating personal references, meanings and messages, “just as the Imperial Easter Eggs were created as personal gifts from one family member to another.”

 

The Ribbon Egg

 

Fabergé said each egg pendant involves “a lengthy, exacting and in many cases pioneering fabrication process, pushing boundaries of both design and manufacture, and taking contemporary craftsmanship to a new level of sophistication. Bejewelled, superbly crafted, each with its own intriguing story, and full of surprises.”

The collection will be exhibited at the Fabergé boutique in Geneva from July 18 till August 21.

The first nine of the 12 eggs of collection “Les Fameux de Fabergé” are listed as follows:

The Diaghilev Egg, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it,” diamond circles with rubies and an invisibly-set diamond drawer that opens at the push of a gemstone to reveal a matching pendant.

The Ribbon Egg, “A gift is better than a promise,” an elaborate gem-embroidered layered, articulated ribbon, based on traditional Russian prints and textiles, set at the top with a large diamond and ornamented with enamel, lacquer and precious stones.

The Cherry Egg, “Life is a bowl of cherries,” clustered with luscious cherries, in carved stones, gold and gems, with a hidden golden nut and then a golden pit inside.

The Train des Fleurs Egg, “He that travels knows much,” recalling the train that brought flowers from Grasse, in the South of France, to St Petersburg, during the winter party season, ensuring the palace halls were filled with spring flowers and fragrance.

The Chimère Egg, “What you see is not always what you get,” a puzzle egg, in the spirit of Russian fairy tales, with rotating segments, a fish, flower and frog, creating child-like fantasy creatures.

The High Tech Egg, “Every man is the architect of his own fortune,” an intricate three-dimensional structure, playing with space, height, depth and color to create a modernist framework.

The Mosaic Egg, “Old love does not rust,” inspired by the eponymous Fabergé Imperial Egg and its interpretation of petit point embroidery, with delicate diamond lattice work at the both ends.

The Diamond Egg, “Genius is simplicity,” a titanium egg, entirely invisibly-set with white diamonds, a feat that the company says has never been achieved.

The Snake Egg, “Where there is love, there is no darkness,” the serpent curled around a glossy enameled egg, re-interpreting a favorite Fabergé emblem, symbol of eternity and rebirth.

Fabergé Flies with VistaJet

Contemporary interpretation of the Fabergé by artist Ian Davenport on the tail of a Bombardier Global 6000.

Luxury jewelry brand, Fabergé, has teamed up with luxury aviation company, VistaJet, in a promotion that puts a contemporary spin on the company’s legendary heritage.

The two companies commissioned artist Ian Davenport to create a design for the tail of one of VistaJet’s flagship aircraft—the Bombardier Global 6000—that depicts a contemporary interpretation of the Fabergé egg. To launch this project, VistaJet customers will be able to purchase a limited edition collection of Fabergé Fine Jewellery egg pendants in the cabin this spring. 

Exclusive collection of Fabergé Fine Jewellery egg pendants for VistaJet.

Davenport's egg is colored in waves of different shades of red, blue and green that reflects on the guilloché enamel pattern that Fabergé applied to its Imperial Easter Eggs. “This design blends heritage and modernity which perfectly reflects our contemporary vision of Fabergé today,” said Katharina Flohr, Fabergé’s creative and managing director.

Exclusive to VistaJet, the collection of fine egg pendants comes in a variety of designs in gold, colored gemstones and enamel, reflecting Fabergé’s legendary artistry and craftsmanship. The designs are available on-board starting at $7,900.

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Fabergé Invades London with an Egg for the Queen and an Easter Egg Hunt

The Fabergé Diamond Jubilee Egg.

Luxury jewelry house, Fabergé, has unveiled a custom bejeweled egg honoring Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in London Tuesday as residents scoured the city streets to begin a 40-day hunt for elaborately decorated Easter eggs in a charity benefit.

Crafted with precisely 500 grams of rose gold, the design of the one-of-a-kind Diamond Jubilee Egg is topped with 60 gemstones—one for each year of the Queen’s reign—set in the pleats of its quilted rose gold surface and comprising diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. Actress Emilia Fox displayed the egg during the unveiling outside the recently opened Fabergé London boutique.

Actress Emilia Fox with the Fabergé Diamond Jubilee Egg.

The Diamond Jubilee Egg is valued at $157,850 and is the top prize in the The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt. It will be on display at the Fabergé boutique from February 21 until April 1, and then at Harrods in Knightsbridge from April 2 -8.

More than 200 eggs, each around 2 ½ foot in height and designed and decorated by designers and artists have been “hidden” around central London as residents try to find the eggs. Each egg holds a unique code which, when texted to the number provided via SMS, provides an entry to win the Diamond Jubilee Egg. Each additional code submitted provides an additional entry, increasing the chances of winning the Diamond Jubilee Egg. Charges apply to each text message, with the proceeds going to the two charities: Action For Children and The Elephant Family. Fabergé seeks to raise one million pounds for each charity

The creative talent decorating the eggs represents many disciplines—including architects product designers, fashion houses, jewelry designers and artists. They include Marc Quinn, Chapman Brothers, Sir Peter Blake, Zaha Hadid, Nicky Haslam, Candy & Candy, Gordon Murray, Bruce Oldfield, Robinson Pelham, Sir Ridley Scott, Diane von Furstenberg and Mulberry.

Each of these works of art will be sold by auction to raise funds for the charities. See www.thebigegghunt.co.uk for more information.

Fabergé's Eggcelent Easter Hunt

Tom Parker Bowles stands among the fiberglass eggs that will be painted and hidden throughout London.

Fabergé is taking over London, turning the center of the city into a hiding place for 200 massive, elaborately decorated Easter eggs. The eggs will be strategically placed throughout the capital and entrants will have the 40 days and nights of Lent—starting on Shrove Tuesday, February 12, 2012—to hunt down as many eggs as possible.

The promotion is naturally called “The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt.” The luxury brand is using the event to raise up to £2 million ($3.1 million) for Action for Children, a leading children’s charity, and Elephant Family, the UK’s biggest funder for the endangered Asian elephant (£1 million for each charity).

The two-and-a-half foot fiberglass eggs will be exclusively adorned and decorated by some of the world’s leading artists, architects, jewelers and designers including the Chapman Brothers, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon, Zandra Rhodes,Diane Von Furstenberg, Sophie Dahl, Rob Ryan, William Curley, Bompas and Parr and Polly Morgan. The eggs, which are destined to become highly collectible works of art, will be available to buy once the hunt is over at three specially arranged auctions, with proceeds from the sales going to Action for Children and Elephant Family. The jewel in the crown of this auction will be an exclusively designed jeweled egg pendant by Fabergé, in collaboration with Nicky Haslam. All proceeds from the sales will go toward the two charities.

In addition, the event is an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the biggest Easter egg hunt. It also serves as a promotion for the newly opened Fabergé boutique, the first time in a nearly a century that the brand had a store in London.

The event was launched in November at The Goring luxury hotel dining room, with a culinary creation commissioned by Fabergé, billed as the world’s most “eggsclusive” breakfast— smoked salmon, scrambled Burford Brown eggs, quail’s egg, lobster, and caviar. The dish will be added to the menu at The Goring Hotel throughout the duration of The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt. Below is a video of event, hosted by British food writer and broadcaster, Tom Parker Bowles, and with commentary from charity representatives, participating artists and Fabergé officials.