Big earner (November 22)

Friday 21st November 2008

If Press reports this week are anything to go by then diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend.

They have, apparently, experienced a dramatic fall in value over the past couple of months causing shares in Gem Diamonds, the London-listed miner, to tumble by as much as 38 per cent.

But amid all the doom and gloom, the magic name of Faberge can still bring a sparkle to people’s eyes.

Prices are still rising steeply, despite the recession, as Russian millionaire collectors strive to claim back their country’s treasures.

If you’ve been watching the Antiques Roadshow lately then you’ll have seen how excited people get when jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn finds, and then values, any classic gems from the Faberge workshops.

Now Dreweatt’s tell me that at their Donnington Priory salerooms last week, they saw an enamelled desk clock by Faberge workmaster Michael Perchin go to a private collector for an astonishing £160,000.

Even more surprising was the fact that the pre-sale estimate was only £7,000-£10,000.

Auction house spokesman James Nicholson explained that the clock was sold on behalf of someone who had emigrated to Canada and wanted to make sure that the clock would sell.

He added that the bidding had been frenzied both in the room and by telephone.

Perchin, who worked and died in St Petersburg, was one of the two most important Faberge workmasters in Russia, the other being Henrik Wigström. The leading workmaster in the House of Faberge after 1886, Perchin was responsible for supervising the production of the much lauded eggs until 1903. They were, in fact, marked with his initials.

Qualifying as a master craftsman in 1884, his workshop produced all types of “objets de fantasie” in gold, enamel and hard stones.

All the important commissions of the time, including some of the Imperial Easter Eggs – the renowned “Faberge eggs” – came from his workshop.

His time as head workmaster is generally acknowledged to be the most artistically innovative, encompasing a huge range of styles.

Gerry Brooke