May 30, 1846

Carl Fabergé, (May 30, 1846 to September 24, 1920) was the leading Russian jeweler, at the turn into the twentieth century. Carl Faberge was responsible for the Easter eggs given by the royal family to their relatives. Their fabulous materials and artistic cleverness and delicacy have made the eggs emblematic of a vanished era of privilege. Not that the art is vanished, not a lot of it anyway. The Bolsheviks seized the Faberge property and real estate, as well as that of many aristocrats.. And last year a Faberge egg showed back up. It had been purchased from a flea market near Kansas City. A scrap metal dealer paid $14,000 for it. He had no idea it was worth 33 million, and only after he failed to make his money back on it, did he do some research. And contact a European art expert. Here's that story.

Faberge did cats too. Here is one, made of cream colored chalcedony. The eyes are precious gems. It was safe in the collection of Britain's royal family when the Bolsheviks took over. 



Carl Faberge and his family also escaped their homeland. Though they fled separately, his wife and his son made it through after a long trek through Baltic woods to safety. Although they were not destitute when the family recombined in Switzerland, the story is Carl Faberge's heart was broken. Of course he was already an old man. And soon himself vanished.