The Jeweled Egg

The story of the jeweled egg started in St. Petersburg, Russia in late 1800's. In keeping with the centuries old Russian tradition of celebrating Easter with three kisses and the gift of an egg. Czar Alexander accepted Peter Carl Faberge's idea of creating a jeweled egg with a surprise inside for his wife. The success of this gift resulted in an imperial commission for a Faberge egg every year. This tradition was then carried on by Alexander's son, Nicholas II, who presented his wife and mother with such eggs until 1917. Unfortunately, the Russian Revolution put an end to Czars as well as to Faberge's work.

Each Faberge egg was a masterpiece representing hundreds of hours of hand applied work. Although these imperial eggs bear his name, Faberge himself never worked on them. He supervised his talented artisans and controlled every step for each egg commissioned discussing every detail with all the work masters. 46 Imperial Faberge eggs are known to exist today. 10 in the Kremlin museum and the rest spread around the world in various places including the Forbes magazine collection in New York City.

Ilya Abelsky always appreciated the Faberge designs and the hand enameling techniques. In 1989 he founded his own company which started making miniature Faberge style eggs for the "art of it". Once he began to show this collection, he discovered that there were many interested buyers fascinated by the intricate job of Russian jewelers. Since then Abelsky discovered several other Russian craftsmen who work with shaded enamel in the style of Faberge. Now, Abelsky travels the country with a mind boggling collection of miniature treasures.

The Eggstravaganza Collection includes some reproductions of Faberge's creations. Many people do not realize that Faberge also created some miniature eggs. "Our goal here is not to copy Faberge's designs but only to display our skills using the same techniques and to aspire to the same unique and distinctive quality in these and all our designs" says Abelsky.

All miniature eggs are designed and hand-made by "Old World" Russian craftsmen. They are made out of Sterling Silver with 24K gold gild with hand applied multicolored enamels on filigree patterns with additional applications of grain and paint. Many of the designs are further accented with gemstones or semi-precious stones such as onyx, lapis, malachite, amber, crystal, or rose quartz. Some of the eggs open and have a surprise inside.

All eggs can be worn on a necklace, as interchangeable earrings, as a charm, on a pin, or even as a terrific collectible. Start your own tradition by giving eggs to your loved ones as a symbol of birth, life and love.