House of Fabergé facts for kids
The House of Fabergé (pronounced fah-ber-ZHAY) was a famous jewellery company started in 1842 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was founded by Gustav Fabergé. His sons, Peter Carl and Agathon, and later his grandsons, continued to run the business. The company was well-known for making beautiful, jewel-covered Fabergé eggs for the Russian emperors. They also created many other high-quality and detailed jewellery pieces.
After the October Revolution in 1917, the original company closed. In 1924, Peter Carl's sons, Alexander and Eugène Fabergé, opened a new company called Fabergé & Cie in Paris, France. They made similar jewellery and added "PARIS" to their company's name. Over the years, the Fabergé brand name was sold many times. Companies using the name made perfumes, clothing, and even movies. Today, the brand is owned by Fabergé Limited and focuses only on jewellery and gemstones.
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How Fabergé Began
The Fabergé family came from France in the 1600s. They were called Favri. They had to leave France around 1685 because of religious problems. Many other French Protestants, known as Huguenots, also became refugees.
As the family moved across Europe, their name slowly changed. It went from Favri to Faberge. In the 1830s, Gustav Faberge moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia. He trained to become a goldsmith, learning to make things from gold. In 1841, Gustav Faberge became a Master Goldsmith.
Opening the First Shop
In 1842, Gustav Fabergé opened his own jewellery shop called Fabergé. He put a special mark over the "e" in Fabergé. This made the name sound more French. At that time, French was a very important language for the Russian royal family and rich people. They thought French goods were very luxurious.
Later that year, Gustav married Charlotte Jungstedt. In 1846, their son, Peter Carl Fabergé, was born. He was often called Carl Fabergé.
Carl Fabergé Takes Over
Carl Fabergé went to a good school, which showed his father's business was doing well. In 1860, Gustav Fabergé retired and moved away. He left the business to be managed by others while Carl continued his education. Carl traveled around Europe, learning from skilled goldsmiths in different countries. He also visited museums to see beautiful art.
Carl returned to Saint Petersburg in 1864 and joined his father's company. He was only 18. He kept learning from the company's manager. In 1872, Carl took over the business. In 1882, he became the official head of the company. That same year, his younger brother, Agathon Fabergé, joined the business. Agathon was a very talented designer who brought new ideas to the company.
Becoming Famous
Carl Fabergé helped repair and restore items at the Hermitage Museum. Because of this, his company was asked to show its work at an exhibition in Moscow. One piece was a copy of an old gold bracelet from the Hermitage Museum. Tsar Alexander III was amazed. He couldn't tell the difference between Fabergé's copy and the original!
The Tsar ordered that Fabergé's work should be shown in the Hermitage Museum. This was to show how great Russian craftsmanship was. In 1885, the House of Fabergé received a special title: "Goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown." This started their close connection with the Russian tsars.
The Imperial Easter Eggs
In 1885, Tsar Alexander III asked Fabergé to make an Easter egg for his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna. This first egg looked like a normal hen's egg on the outside. But it opened up to show a golden yolk. The yolk then opened to reveal a golden chicken. Inside the chicken was a tiny copy of the Imperial Crown and a small ruby egg. This egg, known as the Hen Egg, is now owned by Victor Vekselberg.
The Tsar loved the egg so much that he continued the tradition. Every Easter, Carl Fabergé would create a surprise egg for the Empress. From 1887, Carl Fabergé had complete freedom to design the eggs. Not even the Tsar knew what the egg would look like! The only rule was that each egg had to contain a surprise inside.
The House of Fabergé made 50 Imperial eggs in total. Tsar Alexander III gave them to his wife. Later, his son, Nicholas II, gave them to his mother and his wife, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. We know that 43 of these amazing eggs still exist today.
Stone Sculptures
Fabergé also made popular small sculptures from hard stones. These were tiny carvings of people, animals, and flowers. They were made from beautiful stones and decorated with precious metals and gems. The most common animal carvings were elephants and pigs. They even made custom miniatures of pets for the British Royal family!
The flower sculptures were like tiny scenes. They had small vases made of clear rock crystal (which looked like water). Inside the vases were carved flowers made from different stones and enamel. These figures were usually small, about 25–75 millimeters (1-3 inches) long. Some larger ones were 140–200 millimeters (5-8 inches) tall. People all over the world collected them. The British Royal family has over 250 of these items.
Other Fabergé Creations
Fabergé also sold many other beautiful items. These included jewellery, photograph frames made of gold, silver, and wood, and fancy boxes. They also made desk sets, walking sticks, doorbells, and clocks. Carl Fabergé himself, or his oldest son Eugène, had to approve every single item before it was sold. Even the smallest mistake meant the item would not be sold.
Growing the Business
The House of Fabergé won international awards. It became Russia's largest jewellery company, with about 500 skilled workers. In the early 1900s, Fabergé moved its main office to a new, four-story building. They also opened branches in other cities like Moscow, Odessa, Kiev, and London. The company even made yearly visits to the Far East.
After the Revolution
In 1918, the Russian government, led by the Bolsheviks, took over the House of Fabergé. Carl Fabergé left Russia on the last diplomatic train. He had to flee again to Germany and then to Switzerland to escape the revolution. Carl Fabergé died in Lausanne on September 24, 1920.
His sons, Agathon and Alexander, were imprisoned. Agathon was released for a while to value the treasures taken from the royal family. But he was imprisoned again when the government couldn't sell the treasures for his high valuations. Carl's wife and eldest son, Eugène, managed to escape to Finland. Agathon also escaped from the USSR in 1927 with his family. They lived the rest of their lives in Finland.
Fabergé & Cie in Paris
In 1924, Alexander and Eugène Fabergé opened a new company called Fabergé & Cie in Paris. They made similar jewellery items to what their father used to sell. To show that their pieces were new and made in Paris, they used the name FABERGÉ, PARIS. The original Russian company's name was just FABERGÉ. They also repaired and restored old Fabergé items.
Fabergé & Cie operated in Paris until 2001.
Fabergé's Great Reputation
Fabergé kept its reputation for making the highest quality items. This was helped by books and big exhibitions, like those at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1994.
After the Soviet Union ended, rich Russian collectors started buying many Fabergé pieces to bring them back to Russia. Prices for Fabergé items at auctions reached very high levels. For example, in 2007, the Rothschild Fabergé Egg was sold for about £8.98 million (around $12 million US dollars). This was a record price for a Fabergé piece and a Russian object.
Many famous people and billionaires collect Fabergé items.
The Fabergé Brand Name
In the 1920s, an American businessman named Armand Hammer bought many original Fabergé items. In 1937, Hammer's friend, Samuel Rubin, started a new company to make perfumes. Hammer suggested he name it Fabergé Inc.. In 1943, Rubin registered the Fabergé name for perfume in the United States.
In 1945, the Fabergé family found out their name was being used without their permission. After some legal talks, they reached an agreement in 1951. Rubin agreed to pay the Fabergé family $25,000 to use the name only for perfume.
In 1964, Rubin sold Fabergé Inc. to a cosmetics company. This company changed its name to Rayette-Fabergé Inc., and later just Fabergé Inc.
From 1964 to 1984, Fabergé Inc. launched many successful products. They introduced the Brut cologne, which became the best-selling cologne in the world. They also launched hair products and the perfume Babe, which was very popular. The company even made movies, winning an Academy Award for "A Touch of Class" in 1973. Famous actors like Cary Grant and Roger Moore were involved with the company.
In 1984, another company bought Fabergé. They stopped some products and launched new ones, including clothing lines. In 1986, Fabergé bought the Elizabeth Arden company, making Fabergé a very large business.
Unilever Buys Fabergé
In 1989, a company called Unilever bought Fabergé Inc. for $1.55 billion. Unilever then owned many famous brands, from perfumes to household cleaning products.
Unilever registered the Fabergé name for many different types of products around the world. They allowed other companies to make things like custom jewellery and glasses using the Fabergé name. However, they also continued to sell Fabergé perfumes and toiletries.
In 1989, a German jewellery company, Victor Mayer, was given the special right to make high-quality Fabergé Eggs, jewellery, and watches. These were made with gold, platinum, gemstones, and diamonds. New designs were sold worldwide. The license with Victor Mayer ended in 2009 for jewellery and 2012 for watches.
In 2001, Unilever combined two of its companies to form Lever Fabergé in the UK. This meant the Fabergé name appeared on many household products, from soap to bleach.
Later, the Fabergé brand name changed hands several more times. A Russian collector of Fabergé eggs, Viktor Vekselberg, bought the largest collection of Fabergé eggs in 2004. However, he did not own the Fabergé brand name itself.
Fabergé Limited Today
On January 3, 2007, an investment company bought all the rights to the Fabergé brand name from Unilever for $38 million. A new company, Fabergé Limited, was created.
In October 2007, Fabergé Limited announced its plan to bring Fabergé back to its original glory as a top jewellery maker. They also announced that members of the Fabergé family, Tatiana Fabergé and Sarah Fabergé (great-granddaughters of Peter Carl Fabergé), would help guide the new company.
In September 2009, Fabergé Limited launched its first new jewellery collection and its website. They opened a store in Geneva and later in London and New York. In July 2011, they launched new egg pendants. These were the first egg pendants made by a Fabergé company reunited with the family since 1917.
In January 2013, Fabergé Limited was sold to a gem mining company called Gemfields. In 2015, Fabergé won an award for its new watch collections.
In 2017, the Fabergé jewellery brand chose Mariana Voinova as an ambassador for their women's collection. Filip Wolfe became the face of the men's collection. In 2020, Fabergé created a special collection with a whiskey company, which included a unique Fabergé Egg.
Fabergé Museum
In 2009, a Fabergé museum was opened by Alexander Ivanov in Baden-Baden, Germany. It has a very large collection of about 1,500 items. This includes the Karelian Birch egg, which was made for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1917. The museum also has one of the Constellation eggs.
Gustav Fabergé Monument
A monument to Gustav Fabergé was built in Pärnu, Estonia. It was put up on January 3, 2015, to celebrate 200 years since his birth.
See also
- Fabergé egg
- Fabergé workmaster
- Fauxbergé
In Spanish: Casa Fabergé para niños
