We celebrate the prolific union of artistry and luxury as emerald miner; Gemfields joins hands with the renowned jeweler to the tsars- Fabergé.  The collaboration embodies opulence in its truest form, commemorating an era of indulgent possessions for luxury connoisseurs across the globe.

 

Fabergé has gained global acclaim as a jewelry brand with unmatched heritage and legacy. Gemfields, an AIM-listed company that undertakes mining excavation in Zambia and Mozambique, has bought Fabergé with an aim to increase global demand for jewelry featuring exquisitely designed colored gemstones. Celebrating the concept of artistry in today’s world of extravagance, Fabergé traces its enigmatic legacy of creative excellence and combines it with the rare sustainable opulence that Gemfields provides to launch a collection that embodies ‘The Art of color” in all its glory.

 

 

HISTORY OF FABERGÉ: From artisan to imperial jeweler

 

The world’s most iconic artist jewelry brand, Fabergé has created a reputation extraordinaire of creating exquisite jewels, timepieces and objects d’art as well as bespoke commissions for an exclusive international clientele. Few jewelers have been as successful in mastering the perfection of their craft spanning several generations, as Fabergé. Peter Carl Fabergé, with his French-German ancestry, ruled the world of precious jewels for over four decades before the outbreak of World War 1. Founded in 1842, at St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, the firm deftly gained a cult following amongst Russian royalty for designing jewel encrusted timeless pieces which include the famous series of “Imperial Easter Eggs.” Fabergé is renowned for its exceptional use of color, making the most of each gemstone’s unique characteristics and creating a brilliant enamel palette. Their artistry was celebrated across royalty, nobility and industrialists of Paris, Moscow and London along with America and the Far East making them the ultimate gift connoisseurs.

 

In 1917, the devastating Russian Revolution brought an abrupt end to the thriving House of Fabergé; subsequently, the company was nationalized, and all production was closed when the Fabergé family escaped Russia. After the death of its founder in Switzerland, the heirs lost their rights to the company name. History came full circle in 2007 when Fabergé, under new ownership was unified with its heirloom family. This merger commenced a new chapter in their illustrious empire, and set a precedent for a renaissance of the company name and philosophy, in harmony with its fundamental values and spirit.

 

LEGACY OF THE FABERGÉ EGGS

A series of priceless Easter eggs created by the company for the Russian Imperial family is regarded as their greatest achievement. They are the most celebrated of all Fabergé creations, inextricably bound to their legacy. It is believed that the Russian Emperor Alexander III decided to give a gold Easter egg to his wife, Empress Maria Fedorovna to celebrate their betrothal. The object was said to have captivated the imagination of a young Maria during her childhood days. Thus, the first imperial egg known as the Hen Egg was created. It was crafted from pure gold, the thick white shell opened to reveal a matt yellow gold yolk. Which in turn, showed a multi-coloured gold hen that further opened to display a diamond model of the imperial crown from which a delicate ruby pendant egg lay suspended. This commenced the beginning of a yearly tradition that continued for three decades with the most intricate and captivating Easter eggs the world has ever seen. The emperor had only one pre-requisite, there must be a surprise hidden within each creation. The surprises ranged from a miniature replica of the coronation carriage through a mechanical swan and ivory elephant to a heart shaped frame on an easel with 11 miniature portraits of members of the royal family.

One of the most expensive was the Winter Egg created in 1913 which was carved from rock crystals, embellished with engravings and ornamented with platinum and diamonds to resemble frost.  The flowers were crafted from white quartz, nephrite, gold and demantroid garnets set on a base of moss made of green gold. The egg was sold in 2002 for US$ 9.6 million.  Of the 50 egg Fabergé made for the Imperial family, 43 have survived till date.

 

THE ACQUISITION BY GEMFIELDS

No conversation about luxury and lineage is complete without partaking into the eclectic world of colored gemstones. For over centuries, gemstones have been synonymous with wealth, power, and royalty. Before the onset of expensive purses, fast cars, and paintings, luxury was defined and demarcated in the form of precious stones. After centuries as the world’s forerunning luxury asset, colored gemstones appeared destined to become an overlooked specialty item. That is, until recently.

There has been a slow but steady revitalization of the colored gemstone industry and it has been spearheaded by only one name: Gemfields.

One of the world’s leading miner and distributor, Gemfields owns a majority stake in the Kagem mine in Zambia which produces emeralds and a mine in Mozambique for ruby. Emeralds from Kagem are by far the company’s biggest product.

They have bought the majority stake of Fabergé in an all-share deal valuing the historic brand at approximately $142million. Building on Fabergé’s status as a global brand with a notable heritage, Gemfileds is set to create an unmatched status of being an internationally recognized colored gemstones champion and all encumbered luxury enthusiasts.

 

THE ART OF COLOR

An exceptional product of this collaboration is “The Art of Colour” collection. It displays the finest jewelry creations, highlighting precious gemstones (emeralds, sapphires, rubies, spinels, and tsavorites), designed by amalgamating modern influences of the current times with classic pieces.

Each Fabergé jewel is a bold and daring object of art that manages to surpass the boundaries of contemporary design. An explosion of vibrant colors that captivates onlookers. The campaign targets women that shop jewelry for themselves. Through this campaign, Fabergé’s aims to celebrate the superior quality of their gemstones.

 

ETHICAL MINING

Gemfields prides itself in being the world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced colored gemstones. They are the pioneers of the morally transparent marketplace where mining and ethics form the foundation of the brand. The aim is to set a benchmark for the world’s best practices for sustainable gemstone trading, making it a fair trade, environmentally-sound, and safe in all aspects.

They oversee the entire process from “mine to market” which translates into supplying professionally graded, uncut colored gemstones to the main markets through a series of private auctions, where Gemfields themselves carefully handpicks the buyers.

The brand is highly selective about who they supply to; the focus is not as much about controlling supply, as about putting these precious stones in the right hands, and ensuring that the gems go down as the true heirlooms of history.

Fabergé’s captivating creations are retailed out of exclusive boutiques in London, New York, Geneva and other select locations across the globe.