PRESS RELEASE _______________________________________________________________APRIL 2010

                                                           Lot 396 (see sales results below)

The House of Fabergé is synonymous with the absolute upper stratum of jewellery, based in part on the core of mastery as goldsmiths from which the company grew. In 1872, Peter Carl Fabergé took over his father's jewellery workshop which had already been operating in St Petersburg for some thirty years. His creativity, blended with undoubted technical mastery as a goldsmith immediately raised him to a world class level. Apart from his originality of form and function, he also drew artistic inspiration from the over-flowing stocks of the Hermitage Treasury. As time passed, and in his role of Supplier to the Imperial Court of Russia, Fabergé and to the world’s royalty, he became best known for his unique series of 50 jewelled Imperial Easter eggs dating from 1885-1916.

Fabergé's supreme technical mastery, originality of design and sheer creativity are the hallmarks of his jewellery. His much sought-after and highly lauded Objects of Fantasy feature in some of the world's most important museums and private collections, including the collections of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and Forbes Magazine.

After the 1917 October Revolution, Fabergé fled Russia and all the assets of the Fabergé company within Russia were confiscated by the new regime. Peter Carl Fabergé died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1920 but his work will live on forever, as evidenced here in South Africa with this selected handful of delightful pieces on auction in the veneing session on 20 April 2010, commencing at 18h30.

Subsequent to the death of the ‘master’ of the Fabergé family, the company spread its wings internationally, and The Fabergé Company now has offices in London, Paris, and New York, to continue the tradition.

It is worth noting that the concept of a Fabergé 'Work Master' continues as an unabated tradition. In 1990 the jeweller Victor Mayer GmbH & Co. of Pforzheim, Germany, founded in 1890, became the new and officially appointed exclusive Work Master, chosen for its more than 100 years of maintenance of essential manual skills and technical knowledge necessary for the continuation of Fabergé's legacy. Under one roof 60 craftsmen exercise more than 30 traditional skills - some of them unique to this firm. It is from a private collection of the work of the jeweller Victor Mayer and his dedicated craftsmen that our select group of Fabergé jewellery is sourced, a rare opportunity to acquire such sought-after pieces.

A selection of sales results from 20 April...

Lot 395 A Fabergé gold mounted enamelled and diamond miniature Easter Egg pendant, by Victor Mayer,

            Estimate R5 000 - R7 000    SOLD FOR R13 440

Lot 396 A Fabergé gold mounted enamelled and diamond miniature Easter Egg pendant, by Victor Mayer,

            Estimate R6 600 - R6 800    SOLD FOR R14 560