Faberge eggs: who actually made the famous jewelry masterpieces
'03.07.2020'
Source: Sea Diva
Wealthy collectors consider it lucky to get a Faberge egg in their collection. But many do not even suspect that Karl Faberge himself was not engaged in the manufacture of these masterpieces, says Sea Diva.
Peter-Carl Faberge was born in 1846 in St. Petersburg, where his father Gustav had his own jewelry store, by the way, quite famous in the city. It is not surprising that Gustav decided to make his son a jeweler, for which he sent a guy to Europe to study craft with the best specialists.
True, Karl himself did not consider himself a capable jeweler, once even jokingly said that he considers the main tool of a good jeweler to be a belt without which a real master cannot be brought up. Karl explained: "They didn’t beat me, so nothing came of it."
But in Europe, Faberge Jr. proved to be a wonderful organizer: in all countries he looked for young nuggets and invited them to work in St. Petersburg. When in 1870, the 24-year-old Karl took over his father’s company, more than a hundred craftsmen worked here - jewelers, stone cutters, cutters.
In 1882, the case changed the whole life of the owner of the Faberge jewelry company. At the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, the emperor Alexander III became interested in Faberge products. And soon he even made a personal order - asked to make an unusual gift for Easter for his wife Maria Fyodorovna.
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In the spring of 1883, an Easter gift was delivered to the emperor. It was an unusual egg made by the best Faberge jewelers. The emperor was delighted and ordered Karl to make such a gift annually. By the way, the tradition was continued by the next ruler - Nicholas II. He even ordered two products - for his wife and mother.
The making of these masterpieces took almost the whole year; not a single egg was like another. And the favor of the royal family to the Faberge company was a wonderful advertisement - there was no end to customers.
True, the famous Easter eggs were made only for the royal family. Although there were rumors that Faberge didn’t miss a chance to earn money here either - he secretly accepted orders from wealthy people of far from royal blood.
By the beginning of World War I, Faberge already had over 500 employees from various countries - real masters of jewelry. True, the war seriously shook the financial condition of Faberge: many workers were sent to the army, and the number of orders fell sharply.
After the revolution, Faberge property was nationalized, and he had to flee to Europe. After long wanderings, Faberge settled in Switzerland, where he hoped to live the rest of his days in silence.
The owner of a famous jewelry company died on September 24, 1920. Peter-Carl Faberge, who at that time was 74 years old, violated the ban of doctors by deciding to smoke his favorite cigar. But he managed to smoke only half - Carl Faberge's heart stopped.
