Pavel Ovchinnikov (in Russian: Павел Акимович Овчинников) was one of the most famous Russian silversmiths of his time and an exceptional businessman.

He was born in Moscow province in 1830, from a family of modest origins: his father was a serf. Nevertheless Pavel was sent to study in Moscow by Prince Dimitri Volkonski, where he was apprenticed in a jewellery shop.

Friedrich Mauritz Ruckert was born in the south of Germany in 1840. At the age of fourteen he emigrated to Russia to work for the Yusupov family. There he was named Feodor Ivanovich Ruckert.

In 1886 he opened his own workshop in Moscow at 29 Vorontsovskaya Street and one year later he signed a contract with Fabergé. He never worked exclusively for the well known firm, but for thirty years he was the main supplier of cloisonné enamel for the Fabergé company.

Ivan Khlebnikov (in Russian: Иван Хлебников)was born in St. Petersburg, son of a diamond and jewellery merchant. By 1865 he had his own jewellery firm, where he employed his sons Mikhail, Alexei and Nikolai.

In 1871 Ivan opened a factory in Moscow, employing around 200 artisans.

Within the premises of his factory he also opened a school of design and sculpture for thirty-five students.

Ivan Khlebnikov (in Russian: Иван Хлебников)was born in St. Petersburg, son of a diamond and jewellery merchant. By 1865 he had his own jewellery firm, where he employed his sons Mikhail, Alexei and Nikolai.

In 1871 Ivan opened a factory in Moscow, employing around 200 artisans.

Within the premises of his factory he also opened a school of design and sculpture for thirty-five students.

After his apprenticeship in Finland, where he was born, Erik Kollin moved to St. Petersburg, where he registered as a goldsmith and started working for August Holmstrom.

In 1868 he qualified as master goldsmith and two years later he opened his own workshop. Kollin worked exclusively for Fabergé and from 1870 to 1886 he held the role of head workmaster for the company.

Charles Nicholls and William Plincke (in russian: Николс и Плинке) were two English men trading in St. Petersburg who were granted Russian citizenship in 1804. In 1808 they qualified as members of the first guild and in 1815 they took over the business founded in 1876 by John Pickersgill. They initially traded under the name of William Plincke’s English Shop and from 1829 Nicholls & Plincke’s English Shop (1829–54).

Otto Samuel Keibel was born in 1768 in Prussia. He moved to St. Petersburg very young, becoming a guild jeweller in 1797. In 1808 he was named member of the city council. At his death in 1809 his nephew Johann Wilhelm took over the business, which rapidly grew and started receiving commissions by the Imperial Court.

Ignaty Sazikov (in Russian: Игнатий Сазиков) is undoubtedly one of the most important Russian silversmiths and jewellers of all times.

Born in Moscow province in 1793, he moved with his family to Moscow where he was apprenticed to his father. At his father’s death in 1830, he inherited his workshop and opened a factory in St. Petersburg and a professional school for eighty goldsmiths and silversmiths. In 1846 the firm received the Imperial Warrant by Tsar Nicholas I, becoming official supplier of the Tsar.

Gustav Klingert (in Russian: Густав Клингерт), originary from Germany, began his career working as a master for Fabergé. In 1865 he founded his own factory in Moscow employing over 200 artisans and manufactured items worth 400,000 roubles.

Henrik Wigstrom (in Russian: Хенрик Вигстром) is one of the most relevant workmasters of the House of Fabergé, along with his predecessor Michael Perkhin.

August Holmstrom (in Russian: Август Хольмстром)was born in Helsinki in 1829, son of a bricklayer. After his apprenticeship in St. Petersburg, he became master in 1857 and bought his own workshop. The same year he was appointed headmaster for the House of Fabergé and started working exclusively for the company.

Michael Perkhin (in Russian: Михаил Перкин) was, along with his successor Henrik Wingstrom (1862 - 1923), the most creative and talented head workmaster of the House of Fabergé.

The history of Fabergé (in Russian: Фаберже) begins in France back in 1685 when, due to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes the family had to leave the country to escape the prosecution against Huguenots and moved to Pernau, in the Baltic province of Livonia (now Estonia). Over the years the family name changed from Favri, to Fabrier and finally became Fabergé.

A student of Adrien-Maximilian, maker of gold boxes to Louis XVI and Napoleon. In 1818 he started working independently and registered his first mark in August 1827 and later went to work with the Fossin brothers in 1834, remaining there until 1840.

Founded in Paris in 1820 by Emile Puiforcat, the firm produced originally silver flatware and cutlery. At the end of the century Louis-Victor Puiforcat shifted the focus of the company to high-end silver pieces, especially reproductions of 18th Century masterpieces.

The company was founded in 1804 by Antoine-Vital Cardeilhac, who specialised in silver tableware and cutlery in a fine Rococo style.

Soon, the firm gained notoriety participating to the International Fairs and winning a bronze medal in 1823 and the silver one in 1827 and 1834.

The story of the firm began in 1830 when Charles Christofle (1805 - 1863) arrived in Paris from Lyons to join his brother-in-law’s jewellery firm.

When his brother-in-law died in 1837, Charles took over the business which became, within a few years, one of the most successful and popular silver brands of the last two centuries.

Although the firm Maison Aucoc was founded in 1877, its tradition comes from farther back, with Jean-Baptiste Casimir Aucoc, who started working in Paris in 1821 as a silversmith specialising in dressing and travelling cases. Aucoc participated to the French national exhibitions in 1827, 1839 and 1844. In 1851 he won a prize Medal at the Great World Exhibition in London.

The firm was founded in 1880 by Edmond Tetard (1860-1901). It initially specialised in tableware and pieces in style Louis XV. Its popularity grew when, in 1889 Edmond won the golden medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

La Maison Odiot, or House of Odiot was founded in 1690 by Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Odiot, fine silversmith during the reign of Louis XV.