400 years of the House of Romanov: The latest chef d'oeuvre by jeweler Ananov

In early August, the Historical Museum in Moscow will open an exhibition by famous contemporary jeweler Andrei Ananov, dedicated to his 70th anniversary, entitled “Returning What’s Lost...” // Saint Basil Cathedral Easter Egg

One of the main exhibits is the "400 years of the House of Romanov" Easter egg, which took his team of jewelers about a year to complete. "Depicted in the lower part is a silhouette of Kostroma Monastery, where Mikhail, the first Romanov tsar, accepted the throne. The top part shows the dazzling St Petersburg, where the history of the House of Romanov came to an end," explains Ananov. Inside the egg are the Imperial crown, scepter and orb, as well as portraits of Emperor Nicholas Romanov and his wife. "I made it so that it would remain a part of history, like the egg produced by Faberge for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov," says the jeweler.

The exhibition also includes interior decorations, other Easter eggs, and the works "Smolny Cathedral," "St. Basil's Cathedral" and “Qol Sarif Mosque” from the series “Great Holy Sites of Russia.” // Isakievsky Cathedral Easter Egg

"I don’t like artifacts without dramatic composition, so each egg has its own creation story," says Ananov, adding that guests of the exhibition will be presented with small gifts. // Qol Sarif Mosque Easter Egg

Andrei Ananov was born in 1945 in Leningrad. On graduating from university in theater and cinema direction, he worked for a while in the theater. But in 1974, by pure chance, he got hooked on jewelry: visiting a friend one day, he saw the desk of his friend’s father covered with jeweler’s tools. By the early 1990s glory beckoned. // Anemone

In 1999, in St. Petersburg, he opened his first jewelry salon. His works are made exclusively by hand, some of which are in the collections of Queen Sofia of Spain, the King of Thailand, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom... // Weighing scales

In 1994, during a visit to St. Petersburg by Queen Elizabeth II, he presented her with a sprig of blackberry made of gold, neophyte, marion, rock crystal and diamonds. “After that I had an avalanche of offers from British magazines: ‘Advertise with us for 6,000 pounds per page.’ I wondered out loud: ‘Poor Russian jeweler presents jewels to your queen, and you ask him for money?” // Lily of the valley

In due course Ananov’s Easter egg caught the eye of Faberge experts, who proposed that he mark his products with the name of the great jewelry house. He refused, believing his products should bear his own surname. The House of Faberge made a compromise and agreed to a double brandmark: Faberge Ananov. // Church of the Savior on Blood

However, he never took advantage of it, since the contract turned out to be unremunerative. Ananov repudiates direct comparisons with Faberge, saying that he is the successor to the Petersburg style in general, and not Faberge in particular, who was fated to become the most famous. // Cathedral of Christ the Saviour Easter Egg

In the Soviet Union jewelry was made on a production line, using the methods of casting and stamping. What's more, the Soviet authorities banned the combination of two metals, which is what the whole technique of the past centuries had been based upon: diamonds fastened in silver were mounted in a gold frame to add durability. // Smolniy Cathedral Easter Egg