Fabergé Taps its First Featured Designer — a Momentous Move For a Storied Jewelry House

Fabergé is celebrating a unique advancement in its quest to honor the DNA of the vaunted jewelry house with a new partnership with talented designer James Ganh. The London-based young creative of Chinese heritage has been named the firm’s inaugural featured designer. It’s a momentous moment for Fabergé, as this is the first time the brand has released a collection by a featured designer.

Selected sets from the utterly creative Fabergé x James Ganh capsule collection of high jewelry will debut in the Fabergé boutiques at Houston’s Galleria and in Harrod’s in London in September.

It’s a stylish coup for Houston to be one of the first cities to debut the dazzling collection that was introduced to media via a virtual presentation from London, hosted by the charming  Josina von-dem Bussche-Kessell, Fabergé global sales director.

As she noted in her presentation, Peter Carl Fabergé — goldsmith to the Russian Imperial court and creator of the house’s iconic eggs — introduced the concept of  “workmasters” in 1882. They were independent craftsmen who were given the freedom to develop their own characteristic style, with each of their finished pieces approved by Peter Carl or one of his  deputies to ensure it met Fabergé’s exacting standards.

Fast forward to 2020: The house of Fabergé is continuing the tradition of supporting young talent with introduction of Ganh’s collection, which is noted not only for its brilliant use of gemstones but also for the three-dimensional, incredibly versatile creations. Keys to his work are the “highly transferable secrets and surprises and the adaptability of the pieces,” Bussche-Kessell says — the “surprises,” a subtle reference to the treasures famously hidden inside the house’s Imperial Easter eggs.

“The romantic and loving surprises of Fabergé creations spoke to my heart and inspired my work, and this is evident throughout the new capsule collection,” Ganh says.

The young talent considers himself a “jewel engineer” who, according to Bussche-Kessell, “is very serious about technical style.” Thus, the creations can be worn in one form then taken apart and joined to other pieces to be worn different ways.

Consider, for example, the charming emerald and tsavorite butterfly brooch, which attaches as a statement drop to a complementing diamond-and-emerald necklace and the cushion-cut tanzanite-and-diamond ring that, as a brooch, becomes surrounded by multicolored gemstones, then transforms into a drop on a necklace embellished with diamonds and additional colored stones. Ganh’s genius includes earrings that can be attached as statement drops on coordinating necklaces, brooches that become bracelets, and pendants that become rings.

Ganh, who is passionate about color, has created pieces in brilliantly colored gemstones, an homage to Peter Carl Fabergé’s infatuation with color. The capsule collection includes blue, pink, and yellow sapphires; emeralds; rubies; tanzanites; aquamarines; diamonds; amethysts; and tourmalines, to name just a few.

The infatuation with colored gemstones embraces Fabergé’s contemporary credo: “A Life in Colour.”

Prices per set range from $74,100 to $1,150,500, while individual pieces range from $33,150 to $317,460.