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.