Faberge Timeline

1613- 1645 Mikhail Fedorovich rules Russia as the first Romanov Czar.

1682-1725 Peter the Great (Peter I) rules Russia.

1762-1796 Catherine the Great rules Russia.

1800 - Peter Fabergé immigrates to the Baltic province of Livonia and becomes a Russian citizen.

1814 - Gustav Fabergé, son of Peter Fabergé and father of the famous Karl Fabergé, is born.

1830's - Gustav Fabergé goes to St. Petersburg and learns goldsmithing under Master Andreas Ferdinand Spiegel.

1842 Gustav Fabergé opens a jewelry shop at Bolschaya Morskaya Street in St. Petersburg.

1846 Peter Carl Fabergé is born in St. Petersburg.

1848 Marx and Engels publish Communist Manifesto.

1860 - Gustav Fabergé retires to Dresden, Germany and Carl Fabergé becomes an apprentice to the jeweler Friedmann in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Fabergé business in Russia continues to grow under the auspices of Peter Hiskias Pendin, Gustav Fabergé's partner.

1861-1865 Carl Fabergé trains to goldsmith in a four year apprenticeship in Europe.

1865 Carl Fabergé returns to St. Petersburg and enters his father's firm.

1866 Czarevich Alexander (III) marries the Danish Princess Dagmar (Maria Fedorovna).

1868 Nicholas (II) is born to Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna.

1869 Tolstoy completes War and Peace.

1872 Carl Fabergé takes over his father's business.

1874 Fabergé is mentioned in the lists of the Imperial Cabinet for the first time.

1876 - Agathon, Carl Fabergé's second son, is born.

1877 - Alexander, Karl Fabergé's third son, is born.

1881 Czar Alexander II is assassinated in a bombing by revolutionaries.

1881 Czar Alexander III is crowned.

1882 Carl's brother Agathon joins the Fabergé firm.

1882 Carl Fabergé participates in the Pan-Russian Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, where he wins a Gold Medal and is "discovered" by Alexander III and Maria.

1884 Mikhail Perkhin joins the Fabergé firm and later becomes head workmaster.

1885 Carl Fabergé is named "Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty," and Czar Alexander III orders the first Imperial Easter egg for his wife Maria.

1885 Hen egg

1886 Carl Fabergé opens a Moscow branch of the House of Fabergé.

1886 Hen egg with Sapphire Pendant

1887 - Fabergé's first branch office is opened, in Moscow.

1887 Blue Serpent Clock egg

1888 - The company receives a special diploma at the Northern Exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1888 Cherub egg with Chariot

1889 Necessaire egg

1890 The St. Petersburg branch of the House of Fabergé doubles in size; another branch is opened in Odessa.

1890 Danish Palaces egg

1891 Memory of Azov egg

1892 Diamond Trellis egg

1893 Caucasus egg

1894 Faberge's son, Eugene, joins the firm.

1894 November: Czar Alexander III dies.

1894 December: Nicholas II marries German Princess Alix von Hesse (Alexandra Fedorovna).

1894 Renaissance egg

1895 January: Nicholas dismisses a call for constitutional reform in a speech that is cited as the provocation for the founding of the Russian Social Democratic Workers party that would become the driving force behind the revolution.

1895 Carl's brother Agathon dies; Carl's son Agathon enters the firm.

1895 Grand Duchess Olga (first daughter) is born to Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1896 May 26: Coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1896 May 30: Over a thousand people are trampled to death at Khodynka Meadow during the coronation festivities.

1896 Leon Trotsky begins political activity.

1896 Alexander III egg

1896 Revolving Miniatures egg

1897 Grand Duchess Tatiana (second daughter) is born to Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1897 Coronation egg

1897 Mauve Enamel egg

1898 Carl Fabergé begins renovating the premises at 24 Bolshaya Morskaya Street, which opens for the first time in 1900.

1898 Pelican egg

1899 Grand Duchess Marie (third daughter) is born to Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1899 Bouquet of Lilies Clock egg

1899 Pansy egg

1900 Fabergé publicly displays some of the Imperial Easter eggs and other miniatures for first time at the Paris Exposition Universelle. He is awarded a Gold Medal and the cross of the Legion d'Honneur.

1900 Cockerel egg

1900 Trans-Siberian Railway egg

1901 The Odessa branch of the House of Fabergé is opened.

1901 Grand Duchess Anastasia (fourth daughter) is born to Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1901 Basket of Wild Flowers egg

1901 Gatchina Palace egg

1902 Alexandra organizes a charity exhibition of Imperial eggs to benefit the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society Schools. It is the first public showing of the eggs in Russia.

1902 Clover egg

1902 Empire Nephrite egg

1903 A branch of the House of Fabergé is opened in London.

1903 The 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg is celebrated.

1903 Danish Jubilee egg

1903 Peter the Great egg

1903 The 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg is celebrated.

1904 Japan attacks the Russian naval base at Port Arthur leading to the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The Russian navy and army suffer terrible defeats.

1904 Czarevich Alexei (heir to the throne) is born to Czar Nicholas II and Alexandra.

1905 January 22: Massacre of Bloody Sunday.

1905 Czar Nicholas reluctantly assents to constitutional monarchy.

1905 Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich is killed by terrorists in the Kremlin.

1906 The Kiev branch of the House of Fabergé is opened.

1906 Czar Nicholas calls into session the first State Duma.

1906 Moscow Kremlin egg

1906 Swan egg

1907 Cradle with Garlands egg

1907 Rose Trellis egg

1908 Alexander Palace egg

1908 Peacock egg

1909 Alexander II Commemorative egg

1909 Standart egg

1910 The Kiev branch is closed down.

1910 Alexander III Equestrian egg

1910 Colonnade egg

1911 Bay Tree egg

1911 Fifteenth Anniversary egg

1912 Czarevich egg

1912 Napoleonic egg

1913 The tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty is celebrated.

1913 Romanov Tercentenary egg

1913 Winter egg

1914 August: Russia declares war on Germany and Austria (World War I). In the first five months Russia loses over a million men - killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

1914 St. Petersburg changes its name to Petrograd.

1914 The Fabergé firm is ordered to begin production of small arms for the front and dressing material for the wounded. Most items are made of copper or gunmetal in order to conserve precious metals and are only stamped with the Russian Imperial Eagle and "1914 War".

1914 Grisaille egg

1914 Mosaic egg

1915 The Fabergé workshops begin to produce war supplies. The London branch is closed.

1915 Red Cross egg with Imperial Portraits

1915 Red Cross egg with Triptych

1916 The House of Fabergé is converted to a joint stock company.

1916 Order of St. George egg

1916 Steel Military egg

1917 February: A revolt (or First Revolution) overthrows the imperial monarchy.

1917 March 15: Nicholas II abdicates. He and his family are placed under house arrest.

1917 The October Revolution (or Bolshevik Revolution) is organized by the Bolshevik Party against the provisional government. The Bolshevik Soviet Republic is proclaimed.

1917 To prevent further looting, Imperial treasures, including many Fabergé eggs, are confiscated and taken to the Moscow Kremlin Armoury.

1918 The House of Fabergé is closed by the Bolsheviks.

1918 Carl Fabergé and his family, with the exception of Agathon, escape from Russia with the help of the British Embassy.

1918 The Czar and his family are assassinated at Ekaterinburg.

1919 April: The Dowager Empress Maria is evacuated from Yalta to England.

1920 September: Carl Fabergé dies in Lausanne, Switzerland.

1921 Agathon is released from prison to work on the Crown jewels under Soviet orders.

1928 Agathon escapes from Russia.

1930s The Soviet government sells fourteen Imperial Eggs to foreign collectors.