The $60 Fabergé Eggs by Victor Mayer provides 165 illustrations-worth of eye candy. Photo courtesy Arnoldsche Art Publishers.

One of the last four eggs crafted by Victor Mayer, 2008’s one-of-a-kind Spring Egg surprises with a diamond-, sapphire-, tourmaline-, and garnet-laden bird scene inside. Photo © 2015 Victor Mayer & Co. KG.

BY KAREN AANONSEN

No telling of Fabergé’s history would be complete without mention of Victor Mayer — and author Anne-Barbara Kern is helping ensure the German jewelry firm gets the recognition it deserves. Fabergé Eggs by Victor Mayer chronicles how, for the better part of two decades, Victor Mayer was appointed the sole authorized Fabergé workmaster, keeping the brand’s storied craftsmanship alive until 1990 when the luxury label took back direct control of the design, product development, manufacturing, and distribution of its exquisite baubles and objects of art. But the May 15 release offers more than a comprehensive history lesson: Every single egg object produced during Victor Mayer’s reign is presented in the 128-page hardcover book.

Tsarina Maria Feodorovna adored lilies of the valley — making 2003’s Lily of the Valley Egg an ode to one of Fabergé’s first patrons. Photo © 2015 Victor Mayer & Co. KG.

-May 2015