Faberge is back after 90 years

       Faberge', the jeweller to the last Russian czar and creator of the legendary Imperial Easter eggs, made a comeback of sorts on Wednesday when it presented its first jewellery collection in more than 90 years.
       The collection is the result of a twoyear effort by Faberge"s owners, a group of investors led by the British private equity firm Pallinghurst Resources, to revive the brand by reuniting it with two heirs of the Faberge' family.
       The firm also assembled a management and design team that includes Mark Dunhill, former president of Alfred Dunhill, a leather and accessories maker owned by the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont.
       Faberge' said it would not sell the colourful gemstone earrings, rings and brooches through retail outlets, but through its website and 15 sales representatives.
       "Rather than replicating inventory and investing capital in bricks and mortar,we can invest in making unique jewellery," Dunhill said.
       The retail strategy is likely to be watched closely by competitors like Cartier and Chaumet, who are vying for the same wealthy customers.
       The economic downturn did not spare luxury goods, and many high-end jewellers have reported a decline in sales. But a recent increase in the price of oil has given rise to some optimism that customers from resource-rich places like Russia and the Middle East would return.
       John Guy, an analyst at MF Global in London, said Faberge' had the advantage of being a well-known name, especially in Russia."The Faberge' brand is still highly desirable," he said.
       In an effort to enhance the shopping experience online, Faberge' hired IBM to create a technology that would allow customers to enlarge the image of the product on the screen, look at it from different angles and contact the sales team, which speaks 12 languages, at any time.
       Potential customers could then either visit Faberge"s flagship store in Geneva to buy the jewels or get a representative to meet them.
       Created in St Petersburg in 1842,Faberge' grew to become one of Russia's largest and most successful producers of jewellery and artworks. When Czar Alexander III commissioned Peter Carl Faberge' to make an Easter present for his wife, he created the first Faberge'egg;49 more followed.
       The company was nationalised during the Russian Revolution and the founding family fled, scattering to France, Germany and Switzerland. The family sold the brand name in 1951 in a legal settlement with an American perfume retailer, Sam Rubin, who had used the name for a decade without the family's consent.His Faberge' perfume, toiletries and shampoo business was bought by Unilever.
       In 2007, Pallinghurst joined with the South African financial services firm Investec and other investors to buy the name with a plan to revive its Russian heritage. They invited Tatiana and Sarah Faberge', Peter Carl Faberge"s two surviving great-granddaughters, to form a Faberge' heritage council to advise the management on preserving the family's legacy.
       The new collection does not include any eggs, but it is strikingly colourful and based on motifs, like flowers and animals, from collections created a century ago. Prices range from $40,000 for a ring to $7 million for a bracelet inspired by Monet's "Water Lilies."
       The company said it expected to turn a profit within five years.
       Dunhill said there were no immediate plans to start producing Faberge' eggs again, but he did not rule it out."Eggs remain the most potent symbol of the house of Faberge'," he said."Sooner or later, we'll embrace that opportunity."