It is 99 years since Carl Fabergé created his last Imperial Easter Egg. The exquisite Fabergé eggs, crafted for the Russian royal family between 1885 and 1916 (and widely considered to be the iconic artist-jeweller’s crowning achievement), are an inextricable part of the Fabergé legend – a story tinged with decadence, drama and, ultimately, tragedy. And this year, for the first time in nearly a century, Fabergé will launch a collection of four new eggs.
The story began when Tsar Alexander III decided to surprise his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, with a jewelled Easter egg. This first egg, known as the Hen Egg, was crafted from gold, with a series of surprises hidden within, including a multicoloured gold hen and a diamond replica of the Imperial crown. Fabergé would go on to create 50 eggs for the royal family (although only 42 survived the Bolshevik Revolution), and each would conceal a similar surprise. The Lilies of the Valley Egg (pictured) was presented in 1898; the twist of a pearl button reveals its surprise – three portraits, of Tsar Nicholas II and his two eldest daughters.
Details about the new Fabergé eggs are being kept under wraps but, according to Robert Benvenuto, Fabergé’s president and chief operating officer, they are already 80 per cent complete.
March this year will also see the brand unveil four limited-edition watch collections, for men and women. For inspiration when creating the ladies’ watches, the Fabergé team also looked to those lavish objets d’art so loved by the tsars. “The inspiration for two of the models comes from two pre-1917 Imperial Eggs – the Peacock Egg and the Winter Egg. But this is our interpretation of them, 100 years later,” says Benvenuto.
While you wait for these new offerings, you can console yourself with Fabergé’s latest jewellery collections, which were launched at Damas in the UAE last month. These include Rococo, a Charms Collection and Regalia, a diamond and ruby-encrusted suite with an egg-shaped pendant suspended on a double string of pearls and featuring 3,386 round and calibre-cut rubies. And in true Fabergé style, there’s a surprise to be found within the egg.
sdenman@thenational.ae
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
THREE
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