Russian tradition finds a home on Strip

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

Las Vegas has been immortalized in many art forms -- song, paintings, the cinema -- but never in a bejeweled Faberge egg. Until now, that is.

The Faberge Las Vegas Egg, the latest in a series of objets d'art that date to 1884, was unveiled Wednesday at the Sheraton Desert Inn's Monte Carlo Restaurant.

Desert Inn President Brian Menzel accepted the 5 1/2-inch tall curio from Las Vegas Faberge representative Joy Bell. A lifelong Las Vegan, Bell inspired the design that was approved by the Connecticut-based company that has a showroom on New York's posh Fifth Avenue and maintains offices in Paris.

The Faberge Las Vegas Egg is slated to go on permanent display at the Strip resort restaurant this fall. Also, it will be hand-replicated, with copies retailing for $950.

"The Faberge egg is an art form that has long retained its dignity," said Bell, who owns and operates Joy Bell Design Associates at 4003 Industrial Road behind Caesars Palace.

"They are admired for their beauty and historic significance -- and I think they are very romantic. There is something magical about Faberge eggs."

The Las Vegas Egg has a cut crystal top with a black enamel Limoges porcelain bottom. It features an intricate 14-karat gold band and Faberge crest. The suits of a deck of cards in red and gold encircle the lower middle portion.

The "surprise" -- a term dating back to the late 19th century for the contents of a Faberge egg -- is a pair of gold-plated ruby-encrusted dice on a gold-plated surface.

Today, early one-of-a-kind Faberge eggs, originally commissioned by Russian Czar Alexander III and later by Czar Nicholas II as gifts for the czarina, are priceless museum pieces.

The Forbes family has one of the world's largest private collections.

Modern Faberge eggs are produced in quantity -- still handmade, though -- and sold to collectors, as are many other Faberge pieces ranging from jewelry to ashtrays to fine china.

"We decided to purchase our show plates for our Monte Carlo restaurant, and it was suggested that an egg be created to go along with it," said Kelly Griesemer, spokeswoman for the Desert Inn. "Faberge just decided that would be appropriate."

The House of Faberge was started by Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920), who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the son of jeweler Gustav Faberge.

After learning the goldsmith and jewelry trade, Peter was joined by his younger brother, Agathon, in opening a shop in Russia that would become one of the world's top jewelry businesses.

Peter Faberge, who never personally designed an egg that bears his name, gained the attention of the czar when he created other jewelry that was acclaimed not so much for the use of rare metals and precious stones, but because of artistic creativity and fine craftsmanship.

The czar commissioned Faberge's firm to create an ornate egg that would be given on the most important feast of the Russian Orthodox Church, Easter, where traditionally eggs and three kisses are exchanged.

The first Faberge egg was such a hit, Alexander ordered a new one created each year.

"The egg represents birth, and it was a monumental presentation each time a new egg was given (to the czarina)," Bell said. "People are still intrigued each time a new Faberge egg is unveiled."

The Bolsheviks, however, were one group that was not impressed. The communists viewed the eggs as just another frivolous extravagance enjoyed by the czar while the proletariat suffered.

In 1918, after the czar was ousted during the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks closed the company. Faberge fled to Lausanne, France, where he died two years later.

But his name and the tradition of the eggs lived on. In 1989, workmaster Victor Mayer was selected by the Faberge family to carry on Peter's work after a 70-year interruption.

Last year, Mayer unveiled five eggs on Peter's 150th birthday. Among them was the Peter Carl Faberge Jubilee Egg.