We associate the name of Peter Carl Fabergé with brilliantly crafted jewelry Easter eggs. The famous jeweler was born in Russia in St. Petersburg on May 30, 1846. His father, Gustav Faberge, was from Pärnu (Estonia) and came from a German family, his mother, Charlotte Jungstedt, was the daughter of a Danish artist. In 1841, Fabergé Sr. received the title of “Jewelry Master” and in 1842 founded a jewelry company in St. Petersburg on Bolshaya Morskaya Street at number 12. The company flourished, but in 1860 Gustav Faberge retired, transferring the management of the company to his employees H. Pendine and V. Zayanchowski.
Gustav Faberge's son Karl studied in Dresden, traveled around Europe, and then began to master jewelry making from the Frankfurt master Joseph Friedman. Talent young man was so bright and outstanding that at the age of 24 in 1870 he was able to take over his father’s company. Faberge Jr. moved it to a larger premises on the same Bolshaya Morskaya Street at 16/17. In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, the company's products attracted the attention of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Fedorovna. Peter Karl received the patronage of the royal family and the title of “Jeweler of His Imperial Majesty and Jeweler of the Imperial Hermitage.”
A few years later, in 1885, the company received international recognition at the Nuremberg Exhibition of Fine Arts. Copies of Scythian treasures were awarded a gold medal. A golden egg, covered with white enamel with a golden yolk, was also exhibited there, in which a chicken made of colored gold was hidden. The chicken had a “surprise” inside - a miniature imperial crown and a pendant in the form of a ruby egg. This product was made for Easter for the wife of Alexander III, Maria Feodorovna. It was with this item that the tradition of annual gifts to the royal family, which were ordered from the Faberge company, began.
Carl Faberge himself, inspired by the attention of the emperor, opened a new direction in jewelry. The company began to use semiprecious stones and minerals - rock crystal, jade, topaz, jasper, lapis lazuli and others. At first, stone products were ordered from the Ural craftsmen and from the Peterhof lapidary factory, and the semi-finished products were finalized themselves. Later they opened their own stone-cutting workshops in St. Petersburg. From precious stones and gems were used to create miniature figurines of animals, people and flowers. They were distinguished by their liveliness and surprisingly pleasant forms. Another type of stone-cutting work was signets - products for a purely practical purpose, but each of them is a real jewelry masterpiece.
The company revived many technical methods of stone processing, the use of transparent colored enamels and multi-color gold. The famous guilloche enamel remains unreproduced to this day. The technique of applying transparent enamel to a carved background has been known for a long time. However, the masters of the Faberge company have achieved special perfection. Using a color palette of more than 124 colors and shades, each time they created a new decorative effect and a special play of light through guilloche background patterns consisting of vertical and horizontal stripes, herringbone, scales, and zigzags.
The Faberge company was also famous in Europe. Numerous royal and princely relatives of the Russian Imperial Family in Great Britain, Denmark, Greece, and Bulgaria received jewelry as a gift, valued it very much and passed it on to inheritance. International exhibitions also contributed to the company's fame. In 1900 in Paris, Faberge received the title of "Master of the Paris Guild of Jewelers", and the French government awarded him the Order of the Legion of Honor. Even in such remote places as Thailand or Baltimore, Faberge was "in fashion."
Unfortunately, the dramatic events of the 1917 revolution forced the Fabergé firm to close in 1918. Peter Carl Fabergé himself emigrated to Switzerland, where he died on September 24, 1920.
It is difficult to find a jeweler more famous than Carl Faberge. The Easter eggs he created for the imperial family are today valued at millions of dollars and are considered unsurpassed examples of jewelry craftsmanship. The jeweler himself lived a difficult life: he had both carefree years at the zenith of fame and difficult days of emigration, oblivion and poverty. We publish the most Interesting Facts from the biography of Carl Faberge. 
Caucasian, Faberge egg, 1893 
Coronation, Faberge egg, 1893 1. The idea of creating Easter eggs originated with Emperor Alexander III century. 1885 It was then that the emperor ordered an outlandish item from the jeweler for the bright holiday. Carl Faberge made the “Chicken” egg, covered with white enamel. Inside it, as you might guess, there was a “yolk” made of gold, in which, in turn, a chicken with ruby eyes was hidden. 2. The first craft created a sensation at court, and since then Faberge produced more and more new wonders every year. A total of 71 eggs were created (of which 52 were for the emperor's family). The Faberge jewelry company began to work exclusively at the court; in addition to Easter souvenirs, Karl the master created boxes, jewelry and all kinds of accessories. 
Lilies of the valley, Faberge egg, 1898 
Moscow Kremlin, Faberge egg, 1906 
Gatchina Palace, Faberge egg, 1901 3. Faberge products were sold in the largest cities of Russia, it seemed that a carefree future awaited the outstanding jeweler. These illusions were dispelled in 1917, when the Bolsheviks came to power. At first, the revolution did not concern Charles, although treasures worth 7.5 million gold rubles were kept in his house. For safety, the jewelry was kept in an armored elevator-safe, which was connected to electrical power. 
Renaissance, Faberge egg, 1894 
Fifteenth anniversary of the reign, Faberge egg, 1911 4. In addition to his own jewelry, the house of Carl Faberge kept jewelry of foreigners that could not be taken out of Russia. When it became obvious that the Bolsheviks would get to Faberge, the jeweler rented out his house for housing to the Swiss mission (at that time there was a law on the protection of property of foreigners). He packed all the jewelry into 7 suitcases, and their complete inventory took 20 pages! The hiding place existed until May 1919, when the Bolsheviks, contrary to the law, searched the house. 
Order of St. George, Faberge egg, 1916 
Memory of Azov, Faberge egg, 1891 
Egg with a rosebud, Faberge, 1895 5. There are several versions about the further fate of the treasure. According to one of them, all the jewelry was confiscated by the Bolsheviks and later sold abroad; according to another, several suitcases were taken to the Norwegian embassy in advance, but from there they were stolen along with archival data; according to the third version, Carl Faberge and his sons were able to hide some of them precious items in hiding places. 
Egg with a lattice and roses, Faberge, 1907 6. After the incident, Carl Faberge had to leave Russia, everything was taken away from him - his favorite business, his million-dollar fortune, and his native land. Having moved to Switzerland, he eked out a miserable existence, yearning for his old life. Karl died in 1920, in the same year the jewelry he created depreciated incredibly. 
Chicken, Faberge egg, 1885 
Peacock, Faberge egg, 1908 7. After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks, trying to replenish the treasury of the “world's first communist state,” sold off Russian artistic treasures. They plundered churches, sold paintings by old masters from the Hermitage Museum and took over the crowns, tiaras, necklaces and Faberge eggs that belonged to the Emperor's family. In 1925, a catalog of valuables of the imperial court (crowns, wedding crowns, sceptres, orbs, tiaras, necklaces and other jewelry, including the famous Faberge eggs) was sent to all foreign representatives in the USSR. Part of the Diamond Fund was sold to the English antiquarian Norman Weiss. In 1928, seven “low-value” Faberge eggs and 45 other items were removed from the Diamond Fund. However, it was thanks to this that the Faberge eggs were saved from being melted down. Thus, one of the most incredible creations was preserved - the Peacock egg. Inside the crystal and gold masterpiece was an enameled peacock. Moreover, this bird was mechanical - when it was removed from the golden branch, the peacock raised its tail like a real bird and could even walk.
Today we can name two jewelry brands that are quite famous in the West and at the same time, in one way or another connected with Russia. The first is the term “Russian Cut” in relation to the quality of the diamond cut. It is possible to call it a full-fledged global brand with a certain stretch, because it is not “promoted” so much that almost any consumer, if funds allowed, would want to have a stone cut in Russia. Russian-cut diamonds are successfully competed with similar goods from other countries with a highly developed cutting industry, for example, Holland and Israel.
The second famous brand with Russian roots is the word "Faberge". Without a doubt, every more or less educated person on the planet knows him. Primarily thanks to the noisy sales of historical Easter eggs at auctions. But the paradox is that even after such hype in the media, not every consumer clearly associates the word “Faberge” in their head with the jewelry theme. This is especially true in America, due to the fact that the Fabergé perfume trademark was registered there in the 30s of the 20th century. The second circumstance that must be taken into account when considering the name Faberge as a business card jewelry Russia, is that today this trademark does NOT belong to Russian jewelers and ownership rights to it are decided in the courts. The third circumstance is the fact that Carl Faberge was both by birth and upbringing a European of French-Danish-Estonian-German blood. He even headed the German community in St. Petersburg, which without further comment says a lot. However, it was this man, who worked in Russia all his life, who founded the Russian jewelry school, the foundation of which is an extremely important principle: any product, even the most inexpensive one, must be made perfectly with great taste and artistic imagination. After all, the Faberge company produced a huge range of products intended not for the elite, but for ordinary people. And the attitude towards the quality of manufacture of a soldier’s cigarette case was the same as when making gifts for royal relatives.
Jewelry in the Tradition of Carl Faberge in the USA and Canada
This approach continues today when producing jewelry in modern jewelry factories. 
Russia, whose products our company sells in the USA and Canada. You can be sure that the classic silver earrings for 30 dollars and an ultra-modern necklace for 3000 dollars are made in Kostroma, Moscow or St. Petersburg with the same love and diligence. This order, which has not changed in a hundred years, connects the craftsmen of the company of Carl Gustavovich Fabergé and modern Russian jewelers, turning his name into a national jewelry symbol already in the 21st century. It is no coincidence that we decided to start our digest of little-known facts related to the life of the Great Jeweler with his words on this topic.
What is the Real Value of Jewelry?
Faberge in 1914, with justified superiority, told newspaper reporters: “If you compare with my business such firms as Tiffany, Boucheron, Cartier, then they probably have more jewelry than I do. you can find a ready-made necklace for 1.5 million rubles (about 65 million dollars in today's prices). But these are merchants, not jewelers-artists. I have little interest in an expensive thing if its price is only that it is set with a lot of diamonds or pearls ".
International Business Faberge
Faberge's London store served not only an English clientele, but also served as a center for trade with France, America and the Far East. Representatives of the London branch of the company made trips there, transporting goods to these countries and accepting orders from there, which were transferred to St. Petersburg. For example, the Siamese (Thai) royal family was the most significant client in the Far East. Perhaps because Prince Chakrabon for a long time lived in St. Petersburg, graduated from the page corps and married a Russian.
Why the Faberge Store in London Closed
The English government, under pressure from local jewelers who were concerned about the presence of Faberge on the British market, introduced an amendment to the assay regulations. The amendment required the Russians to first bring semi-finished products from precious metals to London for branding, then taken back to St. Petersburg for finishing touches, and then again completely ready product take to London. This circumstance, as well as the outbreak of the First World War, which reduced consumer activity and greatly complicated the delivery of goods from Russia to England, forced the Fabergé trading house to close its store in London in 1915.
How Faberge Created Easter Eggs
Carl Faberge and his brother Agathon Faberge discussed the project of the next Easter egg in the year of birth of the heir to the throne. Agathon suggested using the fact that the heir had already been appointed chief of the rifle units in the composition. “Yes,” Karl agreed, “you’ll just have to pretend to have dirty diapers, since these are the only results of his shooting so far.”
"Our Father and So on"
Karl Gustavovich's haste sometimes had curious consequences. On the back of one icon it was required to engrave the prayer “Our Father”. Having drawn the font of the first words, he wrote: “and so on.” And the engraving worker, instead of the full text of the prayer, engraved it according to the drawing: “Our Father and so on.” “After all,” Faberge noted, “our priests didn’t think of this, such a simple reduction in service time.”
Feeling of Elbow at the Faberge Firm
When Faberge himself accepted an order, he was often distracted and it happened that he soon forgot its details. Then he turned to all the employees, looking for the one who was closer to him at the time when he spoke with the customer, and wondered how he (his employee) stood nearby and did not remember anything. Therefore, it has become a custom among employees of the Faberge firm to say that it is not the one who accepts the order who is responsible, but the one standing next to him.
Faberge's exactingness: "If you don't scold yourself, no one will scold you"
If the original drawing was not at hand, then in huge quantities 
of manufactured products, it was difficult to recognize by the type of item which of the fashion designers conceived the project. When Faberge came across an unsuccessful thing, he mocked the unknown author to his heart's content. However, there were cases when the author turned out to be none other than himself. Then, looking at his own sketch, which his assistants brought to him as evidence, he smiled guiltily and said: “That’s what it means to have no one to scold, so you scold yourself.”
Paradoxes of Big Business
Once, a sugar factory from Ukraine with a fortune of 21 million gold rubles (approximately 1.1 billion dollars in terms of current prices) named Koenig complained to Faberge, bargaining when buying a necklace: “Every year, there are losses.” “Yes, yes,” answered Faberge, “every year we have losses, but it’s strange how we get rich from these losses.”
Jewelry School of Carl Faberge
One of the members of the imperial house was very interested in jewelry craft and wanted to learn it personally. For this purpose, he turned to Faberge to compile for him a register of all the right tools and workshop equipment. Old Master, who was entrusted with this matter, was a great original. He included a “flat belt of sufficient thickness” in the list of tools between hammers, hammers, and gravers. When asked by the customer what the belt could be used for in jewelry work, the old man replied: “Your Highness, this is the first and most necessary tool, without which not a single student has yet learned the art of jewelry."
Princess "protector"
Of the members of the imperial family, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna especially patronized foreign jewelers. They enjoyed this all-powerful protection and, bypassing all customs and assay fees, traded their goods throughout the state. It would seem, why not today's Russia? However, differences still exist, because tricks involving illegal “protection” at the highest level were discovered and proven by Faberge and some other St. Petersburg jewelers. They achieved the suspension of trade in these essentially smuggled jewelry and the payment of legal duties for them. And it must be said that they did not go to prison for this, were not killed in the gateway, and their companies were not ruined by the sovereign family. Quite the contrary. Is it possible to imagine such an outcome if someone dared to ruin the business of a close relative of, for example, some Putin or Nazarbayev? 
Continued on the next page: Nothing human was alien to him... or the adultery of the great jeweler.
Nothing Human Was Alien to Him... or Adultery of the Great Faberge
Carl Gustavovich Faberge, 56 years old, owner of a famous Russian jewelry company named after him, while in Paris in 1902, fell madly in love with Joanna Amalia Kriebel, a cafe singer, born 21 years ago in the Czech Republic. He wisely did not want to divorce his wife Augusta Bogdanovna, a wonderful woman who gave him 4 children, but he did not give up Amalia either. Our hero found the next “jewelry” solution. Every year, for about 3 months, he traveled to Europe on commercial business, and Mademoiselle Krieber brightened up the loneliness of a traveling salesman on these trips. For the remaining 9 months she led a free life. Sometimes, however, she visited St. Petersburg and, without being embarrassed by mutual acquaintances, showed everyone Faberge jewelry from the stages of entertainment establishments in the Russian capital. Everything would have been fine, but the established order of relations, which suited him, did not suit her, who, as it became clear later, needed a marriage with a subject Russian Empire, to which family man Karl Gustavovich was in no way inclined. Therefore, in 1912, she suddenly married the illiterate 75-year-old Georgian prince Karaman Tsitsianov from the village of Satsibeli, whom she left without tears the day after the wedding and never returned to him. An important result of this short-lived operation was the replacement of the German surname with, let’s say, a more familiar for Russia, princely title and, of course, Russian citizenship.
At this point it is necessary to pause the story and note that the Germans and Austrians, even before the start of hostilities, began to recruit female actresses of an adventurous disposition and good external appearance, so that they could slowly, in case of a future war, legalize them different ways in Russia and other adversary countries as agents...
The war year of 1914 found Madame Tsitsianova in Germany. She began to ask her famous lover, with whom she had not broken contact, to help her settle in Russia. I must say that this was a difficult task. Because in connection with the war, persecution of people with German surnames began. Faberge himself was teetering on the verge of expulsion, which is why he even partially re-registered the company's shares to trusted employees with Russian names. In such a situation, asking for a former subject of Austria was risky. But Karl, like a real knight, did not flinch and, using connections at the Court, helped his passion move to St. Petersburg, where she settled in the “European” hotel, where in those years representatives of the Russian military command, as well as senior officers of the allied forces, lived military missions. From the certificate filed with her file by the police, it is clear that she paid 18 rubles per day for the room (approximately $800 in today's prices). Here is what else you can read in the report of the security department dated March 24, 1916: - “In the “European” hotel since April 1915, a certain princess Ioanna-Amalia Tsitsianova (born Kriebel), aka Nina Barkis, 32 years old, Roman- Catholic religion, attracting attention with a wide life and trips to Finland. Information collected secretly about Tsitsianova revealed that she is a former Austrian subject... She speaks English, French, German and Russian (with a Polish accent) well, she makes an impression very a cunning and cautious woman... Currently allegedly cohabiting with the famous manufacturer-jeweler Faberge and, despite this, has constant meetings with other people, and these meetings are indicated by her with special secrecy. The director of the "European" Hotel Wolflisberg is trying for some reason to hide Tsitsianova’s internal life and relationships, which gives reason to conclude that the administration of the “European” hotel, which is sympathetic to people of German origin, is assisting Tsitsianova, who is apparently engaged in espionage..."
Here I would like to show what this mysterious woman looked like. However, we were unable to find photographs of Amalia. It really looks like the ladies were trained by good professionals. But we managed to find a verbal portrait of her from 1915, compiled by surveillance agents. She went by the nickname “Georgian” to them. 
On April 26, 1916, Amalia was arrested. During interrogations, as one would expect, she denied everything, and meanwhile her lover (who was already 70 years old at the time) began to work for her, since he had connections at the very top of the Russian state. (Looking ahead, let’s say that they did not help, and Amalia went into exile in Siberia). This is what the report of the head of the counterintelligence department to his high superiors looked like on this topic: “It doesn’t hurt to note that Faberge himself, who vouched for Tsitsianova’s trustworthiness during interrogation, is far from being a person whose statements the military authorities could treat with due confidence.. “The fact of Tsitsianova’s cohabitation with Faberge in any case does not speak in favor of her trustworthiness, and any of his statements regarding Tsitsianova cannot be taken into account.” Dot. Even direct contacts with the Tsar and Tsarina did not help. After Tsitsianova was deported to Siberia, the couple separated forever. She returned to Austria a few years later, and he, completely robbed by security officers and some employees of the Swiss embassy in Petrograd, became a beggar (having lost approximately $500 million overnight in today’s prices, not counting the value of all the real estate he owned), and left Russia with great difficulties. and through Latvia and Germany, morally broken, he ended up in Switzerland, where he died in September 1920 in the circle of his wisely abandoned wife and son Eugene.
The last photograph of Carl Faberge. July 1920, Lausanne, Switzerland. From left to right: wife Augusta Bogdanovna, son Evgeniy Karlovich and Karl Gustavovich himself. 
Russian empire
Charlotte Jungstedt
Evgeniy, Agafon, Alexander, Nikolai
Peter Carl Gustavovich Faberge(May 18, St. Petersburg - September 24, Lausanne) - the most famous jeweler. The founder of a family company and a dynasty of jewelry craftsmen. He is the creator of Faberge eggs, which are highly valued by collectors around the world.
Biography
Peter Carl Faberge was born in Russia in St. Petersburg on May 30, 1846. His father, Gustav Faberge, came from a German family and was originally from Estonia, and his mother, Charlotte Jungstedt, was the daughter of a Danish artist. In 1842, Fabergé Sr. founded a jewelry company in St. Petersburg.
Peter Fabergé traveled throughout Europe and initially trained in Dresden, before beginning to learn goldsmithing from the Frankfurt master Joseph Friedmann. At the age of 24 in 1870, he took over his father's company.
In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, the products of his company attracted the attention of Emperor Alexander III. Peter Karl received the patronage of the royal family and the title of “Jeweler of His Imperial Majesty and Jeweler of the Imperial Hermitage.”
The Faberge firm was famous in Europe. Many relatives of the imperial family in Great Britain, Denmark, Greece and Bulgaria received items as gifts. In 1900 in Paris, Fabergé received the title of “Master of the Paris Guild of Jewelers”, and was also awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.
In 1899-1900 In the center of St. Petersburg, the main building of the Faberge firm is being erected according to the design of the architect Karl Schmidt, the jeweler’s cousin. The ground floors housed a store and workshops. The rest of the building was occupied by the living rooms of the Faberge family.
Family
Faberge, Evgeniy Karlovich(05/29/1874 - 1960) - The eldest son of Carl Gustavovich Fabergé, a talented jewelry artist and portrait painter, studied in Petrishul from 1887 to 1892 and at the jewelry department of the University of Hanau in Germany, as well as with S. Seidenberg and J. Ollilla in Helsinki. In 1897 he worked as an expert at an exhibition in Stockholm. In 1900, for an exhibition in Paris, he was awarded the officer's badge of the Academy of Arts and the Bulgarian Order of St. Alexander. From 1894 he worked at his father’s company, from 1898 to 1918, together with his father and brother Agafon Karlovich, he was the de facto head of the company in St. Petersburg. In 1923 he emigrated to Paris, where he and his brother founded the company Faberge & Co.
Agathon Faberge's grave at the Orthodox cemetery in Helsinki
Faberge, Agafon Karlovich(01/24/1876 - 1951) - Son of Karl Gustavovich Faberge, studied in Petrishul from 1887 to 1892 and at the commercial department of the Wiedemann Gymnasium. In May 1895, his father entered the business; from 1898, he became an expert in the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace, an appraiser at the Loan Fund, and an appraiser for His Imperial Majesty by proxy of his father. In the 1900-1910s, together with his father and brother Evgeniy Karlovich, he managed the affairs of the company. Following the results of the 1900 exhibition in Paris, he was awarded a gold medal. He was unfairly accused by his father of stealing money, after which their relationship ended, and he did not leave Russia with his family (only many years later, a family friend himself admitted to the theft). Since 1922, he was appointed as a commissioner of Gokhran and an appraiser. In 1927, together with his wife Maria Borzova, he crossed the border with Finland across the ice of the Gulf of Finland, having previously transported money and jewelry through acquaintances and friends, which did not last long, and much of it was stolen. He found himself in extreme poverty. He settled in a purchased and renovated four-story house in Helsinki. He lived off the sale of part of his rich stamp collection.
Faberge, Alexander Karlovich(12/17/1877 - 1952) - Son of Karl Gustavovich Faberge, studied at Petrishul from 1887 to 1895 and at the Baron Stieglitz School, then with Cachot in Geneva. The head and artist of the Moscow branch of the company, in 1919 he was appointed an expert of the People's Commissariat for Education. He emigrated to Paris, where he worked at the firm Faberge and Co.
Faberge, Nikolai Karlovich(05/09/1884 - 1939) - Son of Karl Gustavovich Faberge. Graduate of Petrishule, studied from 1894 to 1902. Jewelry artist, studied with the American artist Sergeant in England. From 1906 he lived in England and worked in the London branch of the Faberge firm.
Works by Faberge
Carl Faberge and the jewelers of his company created the first egg in the city. It was ordered by Tsar Alexander III as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Feodorovna. The so-called "Chicken" The outside of the egg is covered with white enamel, imitating a shell, and inside, in the “yolk” of matte gold, there is a chicken made of colored gold. Inside the chicken, in turn, is hidden a small ruby crown (cf. the tradition of folding nesting dolls) - later lost.
Faberge Egg
The idea of something like this jewelry was not original:
The Faberge Easter egg was supposed to be a free interpretation of an egg made in early XVIII century, 3 copies of which are still known today. They are located: in the castle Rosenborg(Copenhagen); in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna) and in a private collection (formerly in art gallery"Green Vaults", Dresden). In all the eggs mentioned above, there is a chicken hidden, and when you open it, you can find a crown, and in it - a ring. It is believed that the emperor wanted to please his wife with a surprise that would remind her of a well-known item from the Danish royal treasury.
The Empress was so fascinated by the gift that Faberge, who turned into a court jeweler, was ordered to make an egg every year; the product had to be unique and contain some kind of surprise, this was the only condition. The next emperor, Nicholas II, continued this tradition, giving in turn each spring two eggs - one to Maria Feodorovna, his widowed mother, and the second to Alexandra Feodorovna, the new empress.
Each egg took almost a year to make. As soon as the sketch was approved, a whole team of jewelers from the company got to work, the names of some of whom have been preserved (so it should not be said that the author of all of them is Carl Faberge). The contribution of master Mikhail Perkhin is especially great. Also mentioned August Holstrom, Henrik Wigstrom, Eric Collin, etc.
(1846-1920) Russian jeweler
His ancestors were French Huguenots. They took refuge from religious persecution in Germany, and from there in 1800 they moved to Estonia, where Karl’s grandfather worked as a carpenter. Then the family moved to St. Petersburg, and here Karl's father, Gustav Faberge, founded a jewelry company.
Carl Faberge joined the company in 1866, when he was twenty years old. At that time they only produced jewelry. And just six years later, in 1872, Carl Faberge headed the company. By this time, he had made a trip to Europe and became acquainted with the products of the largest jewelry companies - Masse, Coulomb, Boucheron.
However, another ten years passed before his company gained first all-Russian and then world fame. Along with jewelry Faberge also began to produce “useful items” - watches, cigarette cases, ashtrays, magnifying glasses, lamps, lorgnettes and even table setting items. Much credit for this goes to younger brother Carla Agathon Faberge. With his arrival at the company, the list of manufactured products expanded.
In 1882, Carl Faberge made copies of Scythian jewelry for the Hermitage. This work attracted the attention of the emperor, who in 1885 made the first order for Easter Egg. Carl Faberge received the title of “supplier to the highest court”, and in 1890 he was appointed “evaluator of the cabinet of His Imperial Majesty”. The company's triumph came in 1894, when Carl Faberge made a pearl necklace for a wedding gift to the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
From that time on, Faberge invariably received gold medals at all international exhibitions. He opened several workshops in St. Petersburg, each of which specialized in performing certain types of work - stone cutting, enamel, gold and silver. Carl Faberge opens stores in Moscow, Kyiv, Odessa and London. The apogee of the fame of the House of Faberge was the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, where Karl received the title of Master of the Paris Guild of Jewelers and the Order of the Legion of Honor.
The company's products were supplied to the Middle East, America, as well as to the Danish, Spanish, Swedish and Norwegian royal courts. But the English royal house had a special love for Faberge. Queen Alexandra once even expressed a desire to meet the jeweler, but the great master was embarrassed and hastily left London.
It is necessary to say something about those to whom Faberge owes his fame. These are, first of all, wonderful jewelers - Mikhail Perkhin, Franz Birnbaum and Henrik Wigström. Major artists and architects also worked for him, such as Fyodor Shekhtel and Viktor Vasnetsov.
Fabergé was often criticized for the fact that his products were oversaturated with jewelry. His things seemed like expensive trinkets, not works of art. Indeed, some things were conceived by him as toy soldiers or animal figurines made from gems. But Faberge turned these things into true masterpieces. “I have little interest in an expensive thing if its price is only that it is set with a lot of diamonds or pearls,” he said.
In 1902, an exhibition of the company's products was held in St. Petersburg, where for the first time items made according to the orders of titled persons were shown. During the First World War, Fabergé workshops produced copper pots and plates, as well as awards for Russian soldiers.
The company was closed in 1918. By this time, the House of Faberge had produced from 120 to 150 thousand items. Carl Faberge left Russia and died in Switzerland in 1920. His ashes were later transferred to France and buried in Cannes.
After the revolution and in the 20s, Faberge products had virtually no value. In the 1930s, famous Easter eggs could be purchased at auction for just a few hundred dollars. And only in our days there has been a new interest in Faberge: in 1992, an Easter egg by Faberge was sold for more than three million dollars.