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 House of Bolin headset with emerald cabochons from around 1900. | |
| Industry | Jewellery |
|---|---|
| Founder | Andreas Roempler |
| Website | www |
The House of Bolin (also known as W.A. Bolin) is one of the oldest firms specialising in jewellery and silverware that remains in the hands of its founding family. The firm exists today as Jewellers and Silversmiths to HM the King of Sweden.
The firm's archives once dated as far back as 1796, and its founder, the German-born jeweller Andreas Roempler, was established in St. Petersburg as early as 1790. In the registers of the German colony of this city he is called Master of Diamonds. He became a manufacturing jeweller of the Court by 1796 and functioned as official Appraiser to the Russian Imperial Court starting in 1823. [1]
Bolin rapidly became the most important jeweller in St. Petersburg. At the peak of his activity, he supplied more to the Imperial Court than all other jewellers put together. Towards the end of the nineteenth century some of the leading Paris houses, in particular Boucheron, established themselves in Russia, and were granted commissions. From the 1890s, Bolin's main competitor was Fabergé, and although the Bolins continued to make most of the large pieces of jewellery for the Court, Fabergé surpassed Bolin in numbers and possibly also in turnover. The total invoiced was 339,400 roubles.
His eldest daughter, Sofia, married Gottlieb Ernst Jahn, a goldsmith, who subsequently became Roempler's partner. Jahn is known to have supplied an opal and diamond jewellery suite, comprising a tiara, necklace and bracelet, at the occasion of the christening of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia on 17 May 1834. The price of 169,601 roubles was the highest ever paid for a christening gift in the nineteenth century.
In 1833 Carl Edvard Bolin arrived in St. Petersburg from Stockholm and began to work for Andreas Roempler. In 1834 he married Ernestine Catharina, another daughter of the recently deceased Roempler, becoming a full partner at the occasion of his marriage. The firm was henceforth named Jahn & Bolin. Brother-in-law Jahn died in 1836, leaving Bolin as partner to Jahn's widow. In 1839 the partners submitted a request to become Jewellers to the Imperial Court, which was granted. Many of the parures of the Empresses and grand Duchesses were tailored by Bolin, now the main owner of the company. [1]
In 1836 Henrik Conrad, then only sixteen years old, joined his elder brother in St. Petersburg, [1] staying with Carl Edvard until 1852 when he opened a shop of his own in Moscow in partnership with an Englishman, James Steuart Shanks. Their shop was called Shanks & Bolin, Magasin Anglais, and was situated on the exclusive Kuznetski Most. They sold not only jewellery and silverware (this being Henrik Conrad's department) but also ladies' luxury accessories such as handbags, gloves, plumes, luxurious underwear, etc. This partnership did not last long and Henrik Conrad continued the business alone, though the Shanks and Bolin name continues on silverware until the 1880s. His specialty was fine silverware which he manufactured and sold in Moscow and with which he supplied his St. Petersburg relatives. Originally the silver workshop was run by Maria Linke, and later by her son, Konstantin.[ citation needed ]
In 1864 Carl Edvard Bolin died in St. Petersburg, leaving his part of the firm in the hands of his sons Gustaf and Edward.
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When Henrik Conrad died in 1888 in Moscow, he left everything to his three daughters. His sons, in his opinion, had received an expensive upbringing and training which was to be their sole legacy. To make it possible to continue the business, his eldest son Wilhelm James Andreevitch Bolin opened a branch for his St. Petersburg cousins called C. E. Bolin. He continued on his own in Moscow, very much in the old tradition and was especially interested in silverware, bringing in young French sculptors as designers and making magnificent pieces in the somewhat overladen style of the 1880s. Eventually, he adopted the Art Nouveau style, often combining glass (Lalique), ceramics and cut crystal with silver mounts. In 1912 he took over the Moscow shop in his own name W.A. Bolin.
In St. Petersburg the two brothers, Gustaf and Edward, who in 1912 had been granted the title of hereditary noblemen with the right to bear a coat-of-arms, continued as one of the foremost jewellery houses. Sadly, Gustaf died in 1916, creating a vacuum, as neither he nor his brother Edward had any heirs wishing to take over the business. Wilhelm Bolin, who had two sons, was interested. However, the Russian Revolution put an end to such plans.
Vasily Bolin, like his father, kept his Swedish citizenship. In 1904 he purchased a property in the south of Sweden which he visited each summer together with his family. Showing foresight, he opened a branch office in Bad Homburg in Germany in 1912 - a spa visited by the Tsar and his family. Shortly before WWI, Vasily Bolin had decided to open shop in Germany, but remained stuck there when the war broke out, and while transiting in Stockholm to try to reach St-Petersburg, he made an agreement with a banker to open a shop in the city. The company's stocks in Germany were transferred in Sweden. [2]
None of the archives of the Bolin firm have, as yet, [ when? ] been found. A number of invoices from Bolin to the Imperial Court have been discovered in the Imperial Archives in St. Petersburg. There may be more and research has been initiated to locate both them and Bolin's own records. During the Bolshevik overthrow, account books were confiscated, Bolin jewellery owners were tracked and the gems were stolen as war chest. [2] Some Bolin pieces belonging to royal members were put in a safe place in the Swedish embassy in St-Petersburg, and later transferred to Stockholm where it was hidden in the Foreign Ministry’s storage rooms, and forgotten until 2008 when the ministry moved its archives. Maria Pavlovna died in 1920 and never told her family about the jewels in Stockholm. [3]
The firm exists today as Jewellers and Silversmiths to HM King Carl XVI Gustav.
Bolin created the engagement ring worn by Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden prior to her 2010 wedding with Prince Daniel.[ citation needed ] In November 2016, Anni-Frid Lyngstad auctioned some of her Bolin jewellery, including a collier and bangle in 18k white gold with cultured pearls and diamonds (made in 1995), estimated at around $60K. [4] [ self-published source? ]
After the revolution, British diplomats helped recover some of the Russian Court jewelry, and the Vladimir Tiara, a diamond diadem with large pearl pendants that originally belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, was bought by Queen Mary, wife to King George V, in 1921. [2] [5]
Peter Carl Fabergé, also known as Karl Gustavovich Fabergé, was a Russian jeweller best known for the famous Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials. He was one of the sons of the founder of the famous jewelry legacy House of Fabergé.
A tiara is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Iran, which was then adapted by Greco-Romans. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions. The basic shape of the modern tiara is a (semi-)circle, usually made of silver, gold or platinum, and richly decorated with precious stones, pearls or cameos.
A Fabergé egg is a jewelled egg created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 were created, of which 57 survive today. Virtually all were manufactured under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé between 1885 and 1917. The most famous are his 52 "Imperial" eggs, 46 of which survive, made for the Russian emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. Fabergé eggs are worth millions of dollars and have become symbols of opulence.
The Imperial crown of Russia, also known as the great imperial crown, was used for the coronation of the monarchs of Russia from 1762 until the Russian monarchy's abolition in 1917. The great imperial crown was first used in the coronation by Catherine the Great, and it was last worn at the coronation of Nicholas II. It was displayed prominently next to Nicholas II on a cushion at the State Opening of the Russian Duma inside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1906. It survived the 1917 revolution and ensuing civil war and is currently on display in Moscow at the Kremlin Armoury's State Diamond Fund.
Gustav Fabergé was a Russian jeweller of Baltic German origin and the father of Peter Carl Fabergé, maker of Fabergé eggs. He established his own business in Saint Petersburg, which his son inherited.
The Imperial Coronation egg is a jewelled Fabergé egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1897 by Fabergé ateliers, Mikhail Perkhin and Henrik Wigstrom. The egg was made to commemorate Tsarina, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna.
A Fabergé workmaster was a skilled craftsman who owned his own workshop and produced jewelry, silver or objets d'art for the House of Fabergé.
The House of Fabergé was a jewellery firm founded in 1842 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Gustav Faberge, using the accented name Fabergé. Gustav's sons – Peter Carl and Agathon – and grandsons followed him in running the business until it was nationalised by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The firm was famous for designing elaborate jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs for the Russian Tsars, and for a range of other work of high quality and intricate detail. In 1924, Peter Carl's sons Alexander and Eugène Fabergé opened a firm called Fabergé & Cie in Paris, France, making similar jewellery items and adding the name of the city to their firm's stamp, styling it FABERGÉ, PARIS.
The Lilies of the Valley egg is a jewelled Fabergé egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1898 by Fabergé ateliers. The supervising goldsmith was Michael Perchin. The egg is one of the three eggs in the Art Nouveau style. It was presented on April 5 to Tsar Nicholas II, who gave it as a gift to his wife, the Tsarina, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna. The egg is part of the Victor Vekselberg Collection, owned by The Link of Times Foundation and housed in the Fabergé Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Garrard & Co. Limited, formerly Asprey & Garrard Limited, designs and manufactures luxury jewellery and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London. Garrard also has a presence in a number of other locations globally. Garrard was the first official and most notably important Crown Jeweller of the United Kingdom having supplied jewels for Queen Victoria herself, and was charged with the upkeep of the British Crown Jewels, from 1843 to 2007, and was responsible for the creation of many tiaras and jewels still worn by the British royal family today. As well as jewellery, Garrard is known for having created some of the world's most illustrious sporting trophies, including the Americas Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy and a number of trophies for Royal Ascot in its role as Official Trophies and Silverware Supplier, which originally dates back to the first Gold Cup in 1842.
Wartski is a British family firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art; particularly those by Carl Fabergé, fine jewellery and silver. Founded in North Wales in 1865, the business is located at 60 St James's Street, London, SW1. The company holds royal appointments as jewellers to Charles III and before her death, Elizabeth II.
Henrik Immanuel Wigström a Finnish silver & goldsmith, was one of the most important Fabergé workmasters along with Michael Perchin. Perchin was the head workmaster from 1886 until his death in 1903, when he was succeeded by his chief assistant Henrik Wigström. These two workmasters were responsible for almost all the imperial Easter eggs.
Karl Gustaf (Gustav) Hjalmar Armfeldt was a Finnish silversmith and Fabergé workmaster. He was born in Artjärvi, Finland.
August Wilhelm Holmström was a Finnish silver- and goldsmith. Born in Helsinki, Finland, he became an apprentice at the workshop of jeweller Karl Herold in St. Petersburg 1845—1850, master in 1857 with his own workshop.
Anders (Antti) Juhaninpoika Nevalainen was a Finnish gold- and silversmith, and a Fabergé workmaster.
Stefan Wäkevä, a Finnish silversmith, and a Fabergé workmaster. Born 4 November in Väkevälä village Säkkijärvi in the Viipuri Province of the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1833. Apprentice in St. Petersburg at the workshop of silversmith Olof Fredrik Wennerström in 1843. Journeyman at the age of fourteen in 1847. Master in 1856. Wäkevä's workshop at 41 of the fifth of Roždestvenskaya (Sovetskaya) Street supplied Fabergé with silverware, mostly tea-services, tankards and punch bowls.
Feodor Ivanovich Rückert,, was a silversmith, goldsmith, and Fabergé workmaster of German origin.
James Steuart Shanks, (1826–1911), second son of the coachmaker Robert Shanks was a British merchant living in Moscow. James studied at Leiden University and he came of age in 1845 at which point he inherited from his uncle Robert How. In 1852 James established the Moscow shop 'Shanks & Bolin, Magasin Anglais' with Henrik Conrad Bolin, younger brother of Carl Edvard Bolin, the St. Petersburg jeweller of House of Bolin. Two of James' children made significant contributions to art and literature.
Jérémie Pauzié was a Genevan diamond jeweler, artist and memoirist, known for his work for the Russian Imperial court and the Imperial Crown of Russia, which he created with the court's jeweler Georg Friedrich Ekart.
Fauxbergé is a term coined to generally describe items that are faking a higher quality or status and in specific terms relates to the House of Fabergé, which was a Russian jewellery firm founded in 1842 in Saint Petersburg and nationalised by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The term was first mentioned in a publication by auctioneer and Fabergé book author Archduke Géza of Austria in his article "Fauxbergé" published in Art and Auction in 1994. He also used it during the exhibition "Fabergé in America" in 1996 and subsequently.
