Exquisite jewelry show

ABOVE, fefr. Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920). Imperial Rock Crystal Easter egg, 1896. Head Workmaster: Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1860-1903). Miniaturist: Johannes Zehngraf (18571908). Egg: rock crystal, diamonds, gold, enamel, cabochon emerald. Miniatures: watercolor, ivory. 9 3/4''hx3 7/8''w. Photo: Katherine Wetzel,  2003 VMFA. ABOVE, right The Moscow Kremlin egg Heart Link lariat is by far the largest of the eggs and was inspired by the architecture of the Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspenski) in Moscow. This was once where all the Russian Tsars were crowned, including Nicholas II. The Cathedral dome (in white opalescent enamel) is removable, and the remarkably crafted interior of the church can be seen. This piece is currently held in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow. The egg commemorates the return to Moscow of the royal couple Nicholas and Alexandra in 1903. Photo courtesy of Stan Shebs. LEFT: Peter Carl Faberge, Imperial Red Cross Easter egg, 1915. Egg: enamel, silver, gold. Screen: enamel, gold, mother-of-pearl, watercolor, ivory, Dim: 3''hx2 3/8''w. This is a tribute to Marie Feodorovna's presidency of the Russian Red Cross. Inside are portrait miniatures of Romanov family members dressed in the Red Cross uniform. Encircling the egg is an inscription in Russian: "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Photo: Katherine Wetzel  2003 Virginia. Museum of Fine Arts. Faberge Gatchina Palace egg, firm of Peter Carl Faberge, 1901, gold, enamel, silver-gilt, portrait diamonds Elsa Peretti Teardrop pendant, rock crystal and seed pearls, 4 15/1?"?3 9/16". Faberge's revival of 1 8th-century enameling techniques, including the application of multiple layers of translucent enamel over "guilloche," or mechanically engraved gold, is demonstrated in the shell of the egg. When opened, the egg reveals a miniature replica of the Gatchina Palace, the Dowager Empress' principal residence outside St. Petersburg. So meticulously did Faberge's workmaster, Mikhail Perkhin, execute the palace that one can discern such details as cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (17541801), and elements of the landscape, including parterres and trees. Acquired by Henry Walters, 1930, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (Accession No. 44.50Oj. FAR RIGHT: Peter Carl Faberge, Imperial Pelican Easter egg, 1898. Egg: red gold, diamonds, enamel, pearls. Miniature folding panels: watercolor, ivory, 4"hx2 l/8"d, 5 l/4"hx2 15/16" d, with stand. This was presented by Tsar Nicholas Il to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Easter 1898. Photo: Katherine Wetzel, 2003 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Elsa Peretti Starfish earrings. Background image:  Mercymagic... Dreamstime.com. THE IMPERIAL EGGS The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' Pratt collection is the largest public collection of Faberge imperial Easter eggs outside of Russia. The full Pratt collection numbers approximately 150 creations from the Faberge workshops. Five Imperial eggs, all from Nicholas' reign, are in the Pratt collection, which was formed between 1933 and 1946 by Lillian Thomas Pratt of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the wife of General Motors executive John Lee Pratt. In 1947 she bequeathed several hundred pieces of Russian art, many from the Faberge workshops, to VMFA. For more information, visit.

The Coronation Egg, 1 897, is believed the most precious of Faberge's eggs. A table diamond decorates the top of the egg, beneath which the Imperial monogram of the Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna is set with diamonds and rubies. At the bottom of the egg the date "1897" is engraved below a table diamond. As a surprise, The Coronation Egg contains a miniature replica of the coach Horse charm bracelet in which Tsar Nicholas Il and the Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna rode. The coach is made of gold, platinum, enamel and set with jewels. It is executed in minute detail: tiny steps fold down the interior, when the coach's doors are opened. Measures: height: 5 inches (egg) and 3.6 inches (coach). Photo courtesy of "Faberge in Berlin." Collection of Dr. Viktor F. Vekselberg. LEFT: The Imperial Czarevitch Easter Egg, 1912, is made of lapis lazuli, gold and diamonds and includes a diamond-encrusted miniature frame inside with a portrait of the young son of Nicholas II. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, 漏 2003 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Lilies of the Valley Egg of 1 898 is designed in the Art Nouveau style. The egg is adorned with the favorite flowers and the favorite jewels - pearls and diamonds - of the young Empress. As a surprise, it contains miniatures of her husband and two daughters, Olga (born 1 895) and Tatiana (born 1897) (leffj. The pictures were provided by the painter Zehngraf, the date lies engraved in the reverse of the miniatures. Photo courtesy of "Faberge in Berlin. " Collection of Dr. Viktor F Vekselberg. Heart tag charm Toggle bracelet THE HOUSE OF FABERG  WOULD ULTIMATELY BECOME BEST KNOWN FOR THE IMPERIAL EASTER EGGS, WHICH WERE INTRODUCED IN 1885, WHEN TSAR ALEXANDER III COMMISSIONED THE DESIGN OF A SPECIAL EGG AS A GIFT FOR HIS WIFE, THE EMPRESS MARIA FEODOROVNA. ABOVE, left. Tsar Nicholas Il and family, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich, ca. 1910. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press. ABOVE, right The Rosebud egg, 1895, varicolored gold, enamel, diamonds, velvet lining, 2.7 h. For decades The Rosebud egg had been believed to have been lost. It was the first egg Heart tag charm necklace to have been presented by Tsar Nicholas Il to his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. The top of the egg holds a miniature portrait of Tsar Nicholas II. At the base of the egg, the date is engraved below a diamond. A yellow hinged rosebud is hidden within, which originally carried two additional surprises: a miniature model of the Imperial crown and an eggshaped ruby pendant. These two surprises both had already been extracted from the egg when it was sold in 1920 by the Soviet government. Their whereabouts today remain unknown. Photo courtesy of "Faberge in Berlin." Collection of Dr. Viktor F. Vekselberg.

The largest privately owned Faberge collection Return to Tiffany heart lock charm and bracelet was amassed by the late Forbes publisher, Malcolm Forbes and his family. They were to own nine of the famed eggs, including the prized Coronation Egg. The Forbes collection was to be sold at auction by Sotheby's in 2004, however Russian tycoon Victor Vekselberg made an offer and acquired the eggs via public sale for an undisclosed price. Pre-auction estimates predicted the collection would realize between $80 and $120 million. Vekselberg called the Faberge eggs one of Russia's most revered treasures Link necklace and said he would return the eggs to Russia. Faberge's Imperial Easter eggs continue to delight and amaze us today. In the words of Faberge's close friend, H. C. Bainbridge, "He was a genius on the rampage, always in search of something on which to vent his creative skill, and on this quest his clients helped him. Now you cannot give a pearl necklace to a queen, or a diamond to a Rothschild, or a ruby to a Greville; they have them all. This was what set I Love You drop pendant Faberge on his quest and it was just this which made him supreme. It was all those beautiful articles of fantasie, those bibelots for the table, which made his fame the world over. He became the first in Russia to make objects of elegance, taste and feeling; his work the wide world over became known as a style of its own, Faberge."

Empress Alexandra in 1897, the egg has a shell of red gold enameled with translu- cent lime yellow; it is enclosed within a green-gold laurel leaf trellis-work cage. The Imperial double-headed eagle Elsa Peretti Teardrop pendant enam- elled in opaque black and set with rose di- amonds is mounted at each intersection. The surprise hidden within this elaborate structure is a replica of the coach used in the 1896 coronation. Surmounting it is the Imperial crown perched on the roof of the coach. The coach is perfectly articu- lated in all of its parts, right down to the upholstered seats and footstool and daintily painted ceiling with sconce. Lilies of the Valley Egg - Inspired by Tsarina Alexandra's favorite flower, the pink enameled egg was presented to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1898. Overlapping gold legs support four stalks of leaves enamelled translucent green on gold adorned with pearls Elsa Peretti Starfish earrings and rose diamonds, which surround a rose fantasy display. The Tsarina was delighted to find three miniature portraits of hidden beneath the finial her husband and two eldest daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. Orange Tree Egg (Bay Tree Egg) Presented by Tsar Nicholas II to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on Easter 1911, a silver gilt key allowed her to discover the surprise hidden within the eggshaped topiary tree. When triggered, the foliage at the top of the tree rises, music begins and a nightingale emerges to chirp its tune while moving its beak and flapping its wings. Fifty imperial eggs are known to have been fashioned Return to Tiffany Heart tag bracelet before the fall of the House of Romanov in 1917. Many of opulent treasures were taken by the Bolsheviks when they plundered the palace; others were sold to wealthy collectors. Peter Carl Faberge was forced to flee Russia at the time. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1920.

Faberge's masterpieces and what the House of Faberge would ultimately become best known for are the Imperial Easter eggs, which were introduced in 1885 when Emperor Alexander III commissioned the design of a special egg Heart tag charm Toggle bracelet as a gift for his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna. The first, the "Hen Egg," was made with an opaque white shell with a gold enamelled interior. It resembled an actual hen's egg and opened to reveal a matte gold yolk, which in turn cracked open to unveil a varicolored gold hen with cabochon ruby eyes. A little push under the bird's beak revealed the final surprise, a miniature ruby eggshaped pendant suspended within a diamond-set replica of the Imperial crown. Today, the whereabouts of the pendant is not known. The introduction and success of the Imperial "surprise" egg brought increasing worldwide acclaim to the House of Faberge, which was already renowned for its rare objects d'art, as well as utilitarian artistic creations, including contemporary jewelry, cigarette cases, tie pins, ashtrays, vases Heart tag charm necklace and curios. This gift-giving tradition continued with Alexander's son, Tsar Nicholas II, and the pieces have become a byword for treasures of rarity and value. Although other Easter eggs went on to become more intricate and imaginative, the first egg is distinguished for having so delighted and inspired the Tsar that he ordered a newly designed egg every Easter for his melancholy wife. He then bestowed the Imperial Warrant upon the House of Faberge, thereby activating the fabulous series of Imperial eggs. The Tsar gave Carl Faberge complete freedom to design and craft each succeeding egg with no foreknowledge of the form it would take. His only stipulation was that each egg must contain an innermost "surprise." The eggs Heart Link lariat took approximately a year to craft and if Faberge was ever dissastisfied with any aspect of the design, he would smash the egg to bits and begin from scratch. Here are just a few of the innumerable intricate egg creations that were imagined, designed and constructed by the House of Faberge

The Easter festival Link necklace as celebrated today has its roots in the Jewish Passover holiday, a tradition that is commemorated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year. It memorializes Israel's deliverance from centuries of bondage in Egypt. During this Passover holiday in 30 A.D. Christ was crucified by order of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. His resurrection - rising from the dead - came three days later, and is now observed as Easter Sunday. Today, with all of its joyous celebrations, Easter is a popular worldwide festival that has become more secular in spirit, evolving out of its religious background. That spirit abounds in children and adults alike with a variety of symbols, characters and themes. Now we come to the ultimate Easter symbol - the egg - and the sublime genius of Easter egg creator extraordinaire, Gustave Favri, nee Faberge, who was to become, along with his family, the House of Faberge. It is interesting to note that when the name evolved through several variations from the French, "Favri" to "Faberge," the final e had no accent mark. It is surmised that the accent was added later to give the name a French flavor, thereby catering to the francophiles prevalent in the Russian nobility. French I Love You drop pendant was the first language of the Russian court and urban nobility, and was associated with a classy lifestyle and luxury goods. Gustave Faberge, who was born in 1814, settled in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he trained as a goldsmith under Andreas Ferdinand Spiegel, who specialized in making gold boxes. Faberge expanded his knowledge with the celebrated firm, Keibel, goldsmiths and jewelers to the Tsars. He earned the title of Master Goldsmith in 1841. A year later at the tender age of 28, he founded his own jewelry firm, and thanks to his in- spired children, grandchildren and associates, grew and diversified over many decades, flourishing and gaining fame, fortune and worldwide celebrity. In 1882, Gustave's son, 20-year-old Agathon, joined his already established brother Peter "Carl" in the family business, and worked alongside him for more than ten years. This was to be the most prolific and artistic period of the firm's oeuvre. The quality and ingenuity of the creations they produced remains unsurpassed, and some of the best examples of handmade automata ever made are hidden inside of the Faberge eggs. The House of Faberge designed and crafted an astonishing variety of superb original creations, many of them commissioned by Russian, European, and Asian royalty, nobility and commercial moguls. Their unique creations took the form of necklaces, pendant brooches, bracelets, cups, cigarette cases, desk clocks, snuff boxes and all manner of elegant accessories. Faberge prided himself on using Russian materials, including gold and other precious metals, translucent enamels Horse charm bracelet in unique vivid colors and tints embellished with diamonds, pearls, jade, and other precious and semi-precious gemstones. The genius of their style and artistry knew no bounds. The most coveted Faberge pieces have always been crafted in gold or silver, overlaid with delicate coats of enamel made translucent by an original complicated technique and offered in more than 100 exquisite, vibrant colors.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 9 -- Allison Lee Zeiss of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Scott Martin of New York, have developed an ornamental design for a jewelry Elsa Peretti Starfish earrings attachment cover for a set of earphones. The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D589,933 on April 7. The patent has been assigned to Deos Group LLC, New York. The original application was filed on April 2, 2008.For more information about US Fed News contract awards please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, US Fed News, website:www.onsaletiffany.com.
EASTER RITES REPRESENT a convergence, a blending of three cultural traditions - Pagan, Hebrew, and Christian. According to an English historian of the early 8th century, the Benedictine Return to Tiffany Heart tag bracelet monk called "Venerable Bede," or "St. Bede," Easter originated out of old Teutonic mythology. Its name derived from the term, "Eostre," the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. Early Pagan settlers in England paid homage to the goddess by celebrating the festival of Eostra during the vernal equinox, when daylight and nighttime are equal in length.
The English name, "Easter," came much later. When the early English Christians Return to Tiffany heart lock charm and bracelet wanted their unenlightened neighbors to accept Christianity, they simplified the name of the holiday to Easter so that it would resemble the name of the original popular spring celebration and would be easier to pronounce, as well. This accommodation made it comfortable for resistant people to consider turning to Christianity.

Each of the 6 pieces Heart tag charm necklace will be made and hand engraved in the Jeanine Payer design studio in San Francisco. Delicate hand engraved poetry on silver and gold is a signature look of the collection Payer has made and sold around the world for 20 years. The Elements of Change collection is comprised of three necklaces and three bracelets offered in sterling and 14k gold, all emblematic of Payer's signature style highlighting the diminutive and subtle hand engraved words. Payer selected pieces that would also work for men as well as women.
Payer has been designing and manufacturing her line of hand engraved sterling Heart Link lariat and 18k jewelry in San Francisco for 20 years. She currently employs a team of 16 people who work to carefully craft the collection in the old fashioned way: made to order in small quantities. The Jeanine Payer collection can be found in 175 fine specialty stores such as Barneys New York and Twist in Portland Oregon as well as in her own eponymous store in the Union Square area of San Francisco. Jeanine is a pioneer of the genre of 'jewelry with meaning' and has a strong following of loyal collectors around the world.
Alexander is an award winning poet Elsa Peretti Teardrop pendant, essayist, playwright and professor of African Studies at Yale University. She has published 7 books and has received numerous prestigious awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two Pushcart Prizes, and a Guggenheim fellowship. Ms. Alexander delivered her poem Praise Song for the Day at President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

Designer Jeanine Payer releases her latest jewelry collection Elements of Change featuring moving excerpts from the Barack Obama Inauguration poem Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander. The collection I Love You drop pendant, made and hand engraved by master craftsmen in Payer's San Francisco studio, launches April 1st in recognition of National Poetry Month, and has been gifted to Michelle Obama, her daughters, Oprah Winfrey and other select women who are working to advance President Obama's message of hope (see also <http://www.onsaletiffany.com/> Jeanine Payer Jewelry).
"I was so moved by Elizabeth's poem while watching Barack Obama's inauguration that I wrote about it on "Glimpse" our company blog where we tell customers and fans what is happening around the studio." Shortly thereafter, just such a fan messaged back imploring Payer to collaborate with Alexander and suggesting she incorporate passages from Praise Song for the Day into her designs.Horse charm bracelet Having been overjoyed by Alexander's poem while watching the Inauguration and knowing the significance of the moment, Payer flew into action and reached out to Alexander immediately.
"Jeanine Payer's exquisite designs create elegance in elemental forms. Her jewelry honors the power and beauty of simplicity, yet they also capture poetry's invitation to deep contemplation. In every aspect, Jeanine's jewelry is beautiful, and I am honored that she would find inspiration in my poem." -Elizabeth Alexander
"I reached out to Ms. Alexander to give her a gift--a piece with Heart tag charm Toggle bracelet her poem engraved onto it-- and the dialog turned into a collaboration. Her words about love and possibility are perfect for the art I make. It has been a fun and exhilarating project for not only me but for my staff, especially after the challenges my small company has gone through in order to survive in this economic downturn. This project has had an energizing effect for all of us here and this is an exciting collection. I think people will be thrilled." -Jeanine Payer

2009 APR 16 - (<http://www.onsaletiffany.com> NewsRx.com) -- Designer Jeanine Payer releases her latest jewelry collection Return to Tiffany Heart tag bracelet Elements of Change featuring moving excerpts from the Barack Obama Inauguration poem Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander. The collection, made and hand engraved by master craftsmen in Payer's San Francisco studio, launches April 1st in recognition of National Poetry Month, and has been gifted to Michelle Obama, her daughters, Oprah Winfrey and other select women who are working to advance President Obama's message of hope Return to Tiffany heart lock charm and bracelet (see also <http://www.onsaletiffany.com/> Jeanine Payer Jewelry).
"I was so moved by Elizabeth's poem while watching Barack Obama's inauguration that I wrote about it on "Glimpse" our company blog where we tell customers and fans what is happening around the studio." Shortly thereafter, just such a fan messaged back imploring Payer to collaborate with Alexander and suggesting she incorporate passages from Praise Song for the Day into her designs. Having been overjoyed by Alexander's poem Link necklace while watching the Inauguration and knowing the significance of the moment, Payer flew into action and reached out to Alexander immediately.