Rubies have an almost otherworldly quality that has captivated and delighted humanity throughout the ages. July’s birthstone has been featured in Fabergé’s collections for over a century. The colour of love and passion, rubies are as rare as they are regal. In ancient Sanskrit, this gemstone was called ratnaraj, which translates as ‘king of precious gemstones’.
The colour spectrum of remarkable rubies varies from brownish-red to orangey-red to purplish-red to pinkish-red. Neither too dark nor too light, and evenly distributed throughout the gemstone, these hues are celebrated in all their glory within Fabergé’s collections of jewellery, timepieces and objets d’art.
Fabergé was strongly attracted to these rare and majestic gemstones right from the beginning, with prominent creations dating back to 1893 (above, Moscow Branch Catalogue) signalling the start of the Maison’s love affair with rubies.
The first Imperial Easter Egg – The Hen Egg – featured rubies set as the chicken’s eyes. Inside the hen there were also two ruby surprises, the first of which was a diamond version of the Imperial Crown with a tiny suspended ruby pendant (image below).
Today, Fabergé continues to champion ‘a life in colour’ with its contemporary jewellery creations featuring a kaleidoscope of coloured gemstones, including an abundance of rubies.
The Mosaic Ruby Pendant is an example of Fabergé’s ability to paint with these special gemstones. Featuring princess-cut Mozambican rubies, invisibly set in 18k rose gold, each ruby within the piece has been sourced with care from Gemfields – a world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced, coloured gemstones – from the Montepuez mine in Mozambique.
These treasured rubies are at least 500 million years old. They have a value that far exceeds their visual beauty, as the wearer knows that by investing in a Gemfields ruby, they are also supporting conservation and environmental projects as well as helping to bring about long-term positive change in local communities in both a transparent and sustainable way.
Perfect for stacking together, the Fabergé Ruby Rose Gold Fluted Ring and the Rose Gold Ruby Set Fluted Band both feature Gemfields Mozambican pavé set rubies, set in 18k fluted rose gold. The former also features an oval Gemfields Mozambican ruby centre gemstone. In keeping with its fondness for delight, surprise and discovery, Fabergé has concealed a matching ruby on the inside of the band. The ring, from the Colours of Love collection, also uses metals comprising Peruvian mined gold ore, which contain no mercury, therefore making them environmentally sustainable in addition to guaranteeing complete traceability across the supply chain.
The Mosaic Ruby Pendant ($50,400), Rose Gold Ruby Set Fluted Band ($3,240) and Ruby Rose Gold Fluted Ring ($8,040) are available to view at faberge.com. Enquiries can be directed to sales@faberge.com and will be passed on to a member of the Customer Relationships Team. Alternatively, to commission a bespoke ruby design, please contact private.commissions@faberge.com.
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