The chance to breath new life into a brand that had stagnated for almost a century was a challenge Katharina Flohr could not resist.
The creative director of Russian jeweller Fabergé was in town last Thursday to launch a trunk show at Lane Crawford's boutique in the IFC Mall.
The brand, founded by Gustav Fabergé in 1842, is famous for the decorative eggs it made for the Russian imperial court, many of which were destroyed during the Russian revolution. Flohr brought some surviving antiques to the city, including a gold cigarette case made in 1896 and an amethyst brooch created in 1908 that was given to Empress Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Tsar Alexander III.
Initially launching pieces inspired by the legendary jeweller, such as a floral bracelet and collar necklace, Flohr later began producing miniature egg pendants that are now much sought after.
"I came across an album of a little sister of Nicholas II," Flohr said. "She had hand-painted eggs on every page and wrote down when she had received them and on what occasion. They were not only for Easter. They were good luck charms."
The new, one-of-a-kind egg pendants are made in an atelier in Switzerland on 100-year-old machines. "The technique is a dying art," Flohr said.