A Fabergé silver-mounted guilloché enamel and dendritic agate desk clock, workmaster Michael Perkhin, St Petersburg, circa 1890

At the turn of the century, Fabergé embarked upon the creation of objets de luxe - beautiful pieces which showcased craftsmanship and design whilst being practical at the same time. Fabergé clocks are the perfect example of this trajectory. Taking inspiration from Louis XVI-style design, these clocks originally featured classical ornamentation such as rosettes, ribbon ties and garlands mounted on finely executed guilloché enamel grounds. Soon, the workmasters at Fabergé (it was chiefly Perkhin and Wigström who were the masters behind these pieces) began developing designs derived from Rococo precedents. The Empire style which also emerged at the time was then assimilated into clock design, featuring palmettes, sphinxes and stiff-leaf bands. The rarest of all clock designs were those in the Art Nouveau style.

As von Habsburg writes, ‘almost every piece reflects the style, quality, and technique emblematic of Fabergé: modern design rooted in classical styles, guilloché enameling of superlative quality and in an unprecedented range of colours, and native hardstones cued to every design need, all mounted in precious metals set with discrete but powerful gemstones’ (G. von Habsburg, Fabergé: Treasures of Imperial Russia, Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg, 2017, 156).