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The Fabergé Company was an internationally famous jewelry firm that operated in pre-revolution Russia before being shut down by the bolsheviks. Although established in 1842, it was not until the early 1880's that the firm gained widespread recognition. The Fabergé workshops only created the finest and highest quality jewelry and objects de art; no item created by this firm was ever made to an inferior standard. Fabergé is most widely known for its brilliantly jeweled eggs. A widespread misconception is that all Fabergé pieces were actually made by Carl Fabergé himself. This is not the case. The Fabergé Company was a huge business enterprise that at its peak production employed several hundred of the finest craftsman at a time. For a piece to be considered Fabergé, its design must have been approved by Carl Fabergé and then created under the supervision of one of Fabergé's approximately two dozen workmasters. For an example of an Easter egg that might have been made in Fabergé's St. Petersburg workshop by the workmaster Edward Wilhelm Schramm, see the Icon Easter Egg page. Below is a time line of the Fabergé family/company from the late 17th century to 1920.


Late 1600's- The protestant Fabergé family flees Catholic France and settles in Germany to escape religious persecution after the Edict of Nantes is revoked in 1685.

1800- Peter Fabergé immigrates to the Baltic province of Livonia and becomes a Russian citizen.

1814- Gustav Fabergé, son of Peter Fabergé and father of the famous Carl Fabergé, is born.

1830's- Gustav Fabergé goes to St. Petersburg and learns goldsmithing under Master Andreas Ferdinand Spiegel.

1842- Gustav establishes his own silver and jewelry business in St. Petersburg.

1846- Carl Fabergé, the most famous Russian goldsmith in modern history, is born.

1860- Gustav Fabergé retires to Dresden, Germany and Carl Fabergé becomes an apprentice to the jeweler Friedmann in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Fabergé business continues to grow under the auspices of Peter Hiskias Pendin, Gustav Fabergé's partner.

1862- Carl Fabergé's brother, Agathon, is born.

1870- Carl Fabergé returns to St. Petersburg and takes charge of the family firm.

1872- Carl Fabergé marries Augusta Julia Jakobs.

1874- Carl's first son, Eugene Fabergé, is born.

1876- Agathon, Carl Fabergé's second son, is born.

1877- Alexander, Carl Fabergé's third son, is born.

1882- The firm of Fabergé wins gold medal at the Pan-Russian Exhibition in Moscow.

Gustav Fabergé's former partner, Peter Hiskias Pendin, dies.

Agathon, Carl Fabergé's younger brother, joins the Fabergé firm.

1884- The first imperial Easter egg is created by the Fabergé firm.

The czar awards the company the title "Supplier to the Imperial Court".

Nicholas, Carl Fabergé's fourth son, is born.

1885- The Fabergé company is awarded a gold medal at the Nuremburg Exhibition for its superb reproductions of the gold Scythian treasures which had only recently been unearthed in Russia.

1887- Fabergé's first branch office is opened, in Moscow.

1888- The company receives a special diploma at the Northern Exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1890- Fabergé's St. Petersburg headquarters is doubled in size and another branch office is opened in Odessa in Southern Russia.

1894- Carl Fabergé's son, Eugene, joins the firm.

1895- Carl Fabergé's brother, Agathon, dies.

1896- The firm receives the State Emblem at the Pan-Russian Exhibition in Nijny-Novgorod.

1897- At the Nordic Exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden, Carl Fabergé is appointed "Goldsmith to the Court of the King of Sweden and Norway".

1900- Fabergé's imperial Easter eggs are publicly displayed for the first time at the World Exhibition in Paris and receive world-wide acclaim. Carl Fabergé is appointed as a master of the Parisian Goldsmiths' Guild and is presented with the Cross of the Legion of Honour.

Fabergé's St. Petersburg headquarters once again moves to an even larger building.

1903- What is to be Fabergé's only foreign shop is opened in London, England.

1904- Carl Fabergé's fame has spread to even southeast Asia and he is personally invited to the court of King Maha Chulongkorn of Siam.

1905- The Kiev branch of Fabergé is established.

1910- Fabergé's Kiev office is discontinued because it is thought of superfluous in light of the already well established and older Odessa branch.

1914- The First World War breaks out and consequently the Fabergé firm is ordered to begin production of small arms for the front and dressing material for the wounded. Most items are made of copper or gunmetal in order to conserve precious metals and are only stamped with the Russian Imperial Eagle and "1914 War".

1915- Fabergé's London office is closed due to the raging European war.

1917- The Fabergé company is temporarily closed at the beginning of the Spring Revolution.

1918- The Bolsheviks nationalize the Fabergé firm and soon it closes permanently.

Carl Fabergé escapes from communist Russia to France with his wife, Augusta.

1920- Carl Fabergé dies.


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These icons and their respective images and information belong to Allegheny College, located in Meadville, PA. Neither the images nor the information concerning them shall be used for any reasons other than private, non-commercial viewing purposes. Please contact us if you wish to use the images for any other reason.


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These icons and their respective images and information belong to Allegheny College, located in Meadville, PA. Neither the images nor the information concerning them shall be used for any reasons other than private, non-commercial viewing purposes. Please contact us if you wish to use the images for any other reason.


This page has been researched and created by Benjamin Allison.


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