Customer Reviews

First Impressions: Carl Faberge

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This book has photos about Mr. Faberge' that are hard to find in other books. There are color photos of his eggs that are not found in other books. The only drawback I found was that "all the czars family were killed" and there is still a mystery about Anastasia. Otherwise it is a great addition to any Faberge' library.

Jewels and jeweled items were fixtures in the lives of nobility in the waning years of the European Empires. The scope of the jewelry trade carried on by the Faberge' workshops was astounding. The standard of perfection, innovation in enamels and guilloche techniques, and of course the incredible eggs. Faberge's works were commonplace gifts among nobility and rulers alike.

In addition to the life of Faberge, the lives of the last ruling families of Russia are sketched in this well-written book. Much of general Russian history from 1880-1918 is woven into the text. I have read extensively on the last ruling Romanov family and so I take issue with the last chapter of this book. I found many discrepancies between my research and what was put forth. The last chapter is a simplistic summary of the "politically correct" scenario put forth for some decades after their assassination.

This is just one instance of many. On page 78 "...the czarina was hated by the masses because of her haughty manner." From my readings I believe that the St. Petersburg nobility, the majority of whom were living decadent lives at this point in history, did intrigue against the czarina and the royal family in general. The "masses" of the Russian population were not nobility, did not live in St. Petersburg, and were quite devoted to their sovereigns. The last czarina of Russia was very shy and oriented toward family and faith. Her disinterest in the shallow life of the court personages and their intrigues was poorly accepted by fashionable society. One could almost argue that a sovereign needs to participate in fashionable society to a larger degree in order to keep abreast of, and influence, public sentiment. Were it not for the heir's hemophilia this would have been more possible.) I recommend that the reader take this last chapter with a grain of salt.

The description of jewelry techniques was very well-done. I think any reader, ages 10-90, would find them both interesting and understandable. There are many color plates of the jeweler's art as well as historical black and white photos of the Faberge's and the last royal families of Russia.