Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920) was a Russian jeweler, best known for the fabulous Faberge eggs, made in the style of genuine Easter eggs. He was the oldest of two sons of Gustav and Charlotte Faberge. His mother was the daughter of a Danish painter, and his father was a jeweler and goldsmith. The young Faberge began his education at St. Anne’s Gymnasium in St. Petersburg and continued his studies in Germany. When he was 18, his father, wanting him to have excellent training for his career, sent him out to explore the world. Young Faberge was exposed to wonderful opportunities throughout Europe. In 1870 he returned to St. Petersburg and took over his father’s business.
Carl and his younger brother Agaton were a sensation at the Pan-Russian Exhibition in 1882. Three years later, Tsar Alexander III appointed him an official court supplier, as a reward for making him a splendid Easter egg to his wife. Thereafter, Faberge made an egg each year for the Tsar to give to the Tsaritsa Maria. The next Tsar, Nicholas II, ordered two eggs each year, one for his mother and one for his wife Alexandra.
He became the Tsar’s court goldsmith in 1885. The Imperial Easter eggs were a sideline; Faberge made many more objects ranging from silver tableware to fine jewelry. Faberge’s company became the largest in Russia, with 500 employees and branches in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Kiev and London.
In 1917, amidst the chaos of the October revolution, Faberge sold his shares in the company to his employees and fled Russia. He died in 1920 in Lausanne.
