Location: Faberge’ at the Houston Galleria

Fabergé, the world’s most iconic artist jeweler, held an afternoon tea and champagne gathering to celebrate the opening of its first retail boutique in the U.S. Located in The Galleria, the boutique features distinctive design elements and motifs that illustrate the story of Fabergé’s illustrious heritage. They presented their exquisite collections, from iconic egg pendants to award-winning watches.

Special guest, Archduke Dr. Geza von Habsburg, Faberge’s Curatorial Director, shared the extraordinary story of the Imperial Faberge’ Eggs and the unexpected journey of the artist jeweler. This was a particularly extraordinary treat for me to see the Archduke again. He and I spent the afternoon reminiscing about how we were seated next to each other in 1993 at a dinner hosted by the Forbes family in Paris. The Forbes family, at the time,  owned the largest private collection of Faberge, which they were displaying at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in the Louvre while we were in Paris. For many years my father owned a business in Dijon and he used the same French lawyer as the Forbes family, so  he became acquainted with the family and was invited to many events hosted by Malcom Forbes and his sons. We went to view the collection at the Louvre and were then invited to the private dinner afterward. I just so happened to end up being seated next to the Archduke. It was such a treat to be able to talk with him at dinner about his curation of the Forbes’ Faberge collection. I remember walking into the private dinner and on display was a gigantic cake shaped like a Faberge egg. The entire evening was magical, from viewing their collection at the Louvre, to sitting next to the Archduke at dinner. The next day we were all on the same flight on the Concorde back to New York. I thank my late father every day for giving me so many memorable experiences, this being one of them. I told the Archduke that I wish my father was here so I could tell him that “we meet again!” thanks to him.

During the tea I asked the Meredeth Moss, Global Retail Director for Faberge why they chose Houston to launch their first store. She said there are so many reasons that Houston was appealing for Faberge. One of those reason included the fact that we have over 650 Faberge pre-revolution pieces and artifacts on display at the Museum of Natural Science, which was owned by a Houston private collector.

We were treated to scones and champagne, met the Faberge team, and were presented with the Texas-inspired jewel, exclusively available at the Houston Boutique. This boutique and it’s jewelry is iconic. I feel like every Houston woman would love to have a Faberge necklace!