The award-winning documentary Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014), tells the fascinating story of one of the most prestigious names in luxury goods, offering unprecedented access to the most esteemed private collections, insights from world experts, and interviews with the descendants of the Fabergé family. The film highlights the royal connections to the extraordinary Fabergé artistry and includes exclusive new footage that offers a rare opportunity to see two historic pieces never before exhibited to an international audience. This special Cinema Event release will be in movie theaters in the U.S., Canada, and internationally from June 29, for a limited time.
Fabergé: A Life of Its Own offers rare glimpses of a long-lost Imperial Egg, recently discovered by chance in the U.S. and subsequently sold privately for an estimated $30 million. The film also unveils the first ‘Imperial Class’ Fabergé Egg to be made in 99 years – the bejeweled objet d’art features over 3,000 diamonds and natural pearls.
This Cinema Event will be a very rare opportunity for the public to see these two unique works of art before they disappear into private collections.
Carl Fabergé (1846-1920) rose to prominence in St. Petersburg, Russia’s Imperial capital, where his meticulous craftsmanship earned his company the esteemed regular patronage of Emperor Alexander III and his son and successor Emperor Nicholas II. Both rulers regularly gave Fabergé creations as prestigious gifts to foreign rulers and dignitaries. Fabergé’s famous Imperial Eggs were commissioned as Easter gifts from the Emperor to his Empress. They are rare and exquisite pieces of the finest quality. Only 50 Imperial eggs were ever made and delivered. Of those, only 43 are known to survive. The famous Imperial Eggs today are valued at tens of millions of dollars. Sarah Fabergé and Tatiana Fabergé, Carl’s great-grand daughters, provide personal insight into the history of the company.
Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, most of the Fabergé family initially fled Russia for Switzerland. The film reveals how the company’s exquisite creations were then scattered around the world to enter exclusive private collections and distinguished public institutions, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens. A special exhibition of Fabergé objects is currently on view at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas.
Fabergé is now a household name synonymous with wealth and opulence through its collections of jewelry and cosmetics. Fabergé has a devoted audience around the world, with 500+ books published on the subject, frequent international exhibitions and representation in major permanent collections in Russia, the U.S. and the U.K., all routinely attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors.
A lost treasure: The unlikely discovery of a Fabergé Imperial Egg in the U.S.
The film tells the extraordinary story of an original Imperial Egg, believed to be lost, that reappeared last year when a scrap metal dealer in a quiet corner of the U.S. realized that the missing artwork was in his possession. The dealer had bought the piece to melt it down for the value of its gold. After chancing to read a newspaper article, he discovered that his purchase was, in fact, a genuine Fabergé Egg. Following a limited display at a Mayfair dealer, in London, the piece was quickly sold to an anonymous buyer and has since disappeared into a private collection.
The Egg is made from yellow gold with garlands of colored gold and cabochon sapphire. Each Imperial Egg contains a surprise, and inside this rediscovered treasure is a lady’s pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin.
The first Imperial Fabergé Egg produced since 1916
In 2015, Fabergé returned to its roots to commission a new piece to mark the 100th anniversary of the last-ever Imperial Egg, produced in 1916 for Nicholas II. Called The Pearl Egg, Fabergé’s new creation opens to reveal a rare 12.17-carat grey pearl from the Arabian Gulf. Valued at an estimated $2 million, it took a team of 20 highly skilled Fabergé workmasters approximately 18 months to create.
The Pearl Egg, now in a private collection, was presented to a select audience in Doha and Basel, where filmmaker Patrick Mark was given exclusive access to create this cinematic unveiling.
In 2014, the original Fabergé: A Life of Its Own documentary won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and the Jury Award: Best Documentary at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
Director Patrick Mark is a documentary filmmaker and writer with more than 40 cinema and television films to his credit. His subjects have ranged from Formula One racing to art forgery, Egyptology and colonial history. Patrick’s career began with in-house promotional films for fine art auctioneer Christie’s, and he returns to the art world with Fabergé: A Life of Its Own.
Fabergé: A Life of Its Own will be presented in movie theaters around the world on June 29, 2015.
Cinema listings and tickets will be available soon at: WWW.FABERGEFILM.COM
Film trailer: https://youtu.be/z63Do7qwFHc