Fabergé is rounding up an incredible year of celebrations to mark the House’s 180-year anniversary.
Head of wholesale, Nico Clary discusses the Maison’s new festive surprise lockets, the state of the business in the current economic climate and upcoming brand partnerships.
Fabergé celebrated its 180-year anniversary in 2022. Can you describe the current mood at the Maison as you all commemorate this landmark occasion?
NC: We are truly honoured and grateful to continue the legacy of Peter Carl Fabergé, the greatest Artist Jeweller of all time.
We also carry the responsibility to continue to delight and surprise Fabergé aficionados and collectors.
Hence, we are celebrating this landmark occasion by developing new projects as we continue to write more exciting chapters in Fabergé’s history.
There has been a dramatic shift in the economy in recent months. How has business performance been for the Maison this year?
NC: Fabergé performance over the last 12 months has been very promising and encouraging, and we are on the right path.
2022 has been the best year for Fabergé since we were acquired by the Gemfields Group.
However, this is only the starting point as we still have lots to build on, especially as we continue developing our Wholesale distribution around the world.
Many pieces in Fabergé’s extensive collection focus on the element of surprise. How is the Maison continuing to push boundaries, invent and surprise?
NC: Fabergé has celebrated the element of surprise for 180 years.
I believe the new partnership between Fabergé and James Bond, as well as the second phase of our partnership with Game of Thrones, demonstrates our commitment to innovate and surprise.
These kinds of projects continue pushing our creative boundaries, and our creative team are working relentlessly to stay relevant in a fast-moving environment.
Can you tell PJ about the two new festive Surprise Lockets which have been released for the holiday season?
NC: As part of our tradition, we launch at least one new festive surprise egg locket every year, inspired by winter.
This year, we decided to launch two new surprises!
The Heritage White and Yellow Gold Diamond and White Enamel Carved Mother of Pearl Rose Surprise Locket is inspired by the famous botanical studies in our archive, and falls into our ‘Fabergé in Bloom’ campaign for our 180th year.
Each rose is hand carved from mother of pearl, a technique that can been seen extensively in our archives.
Our second surprise is the Heritage Yellow and White Gold Diamond and Black Enamel Seal Pup Surprise Locket, which perfectly embraces Fabergé’s spirit and wit, as well as referencing our extensive heritage of animal studies.
Continuing the element of surprise, we engraved a small fish inside the upper part of the egg locket, resulting in the seal emerging from the snow to catch it.
Peter Carl Fabergé was renowned for crafting animals from hardstone and his influence is clear in the new festive collection. What other influences are inspiring upcoming collections for the House?
NC: We find ourselves in a favourable situation when it comes to influence and inspiration for our new collections.
Peter Carl Fabergé created an incredible variety of different product categories, and the majority of them with unique designs, and we constantly use this as a springboard for creating new ideas and innovative designs.
We will always continue to push our creative boundaries, referencing our key brand pillars, such as the element of surprise, colour (through enamel and coloured gemstones), ingenuity and, obviously, the iconic Fabergé Egg Objet.
Is the Maison exploring any new techniques or revisiting traditional crafting methods?
NC: It is one of our biggest objectives to preserve traditional crafting techniques, such as guilloché enamel, which unfortunately is becoming extremely rare in the jewellery industry.
However, as a contemporary and relevant brand, we continue pushing our boundaries to innovate and evolve.
At this moment, our incredible production team is testing a new technique for a special project that will hopefully launch in December 2023.
I won’t spoil much more at this stage, but it is very exciting!
What key collections are in the pipeline for Fabergé — does the Maison have any plans to extend its partnerships with existing TV and film franchises?
NC: We love to surprise and delight, and we have lots of new collections due to launch in 2023 that will be revealed soon.
The next big launch is phase two of the Fabergé x Game of Thrones partnership, and we will soon be revealing more details of the Fabergé x 007 partnership, so watch this space.
Has Fabergé built any new connections with retail partners this year?
NC: 2022 has been a great year for Fabergé’s expansion, especially in the UK and across the rest of Europe, adding new doors with existing partners as well as expanding in new locations with brand new retail partners — resulting in 30 new locations added to our map this year.
What challenges has Fabergé had to tackle and overcome in the second half of 2022?
NC: The increasing manufacturing costs as well as the current political and socioeconomic scenarios have certainly been the greatest challenge for Fabergé this year.
We hope that 2023 will bring more peace and stability across the world.
Can you share any details about upcoming surprises for 2023?
NC: We cannot spoil what is on the pipeline for 2023, as otherwise these will not be considered surprises anymore. Hopefully, we will not make you wait for too long.
