FABERGE - RUSSIAN GOLD CIGARETTE CASE, SAMORODOK with SAPPHIRE, 19th CENTURY
Antique Russian GOLD cigarette case with overall textured designs in relief, opens by a Sapphire cabochon button revealing two storage compartments. Reticulation was a technique used by many pre-revolution era Russian silversmiths including FABERGE. Heavy.
HALLMARKS: '56' for gold and silversmith mark 'AB' in Cyrillic for Andrei Bragin, renowned Faberge workmaster, who exclusively produced holloware and flatware.
DIMENSIONS: 3.5 x 2.6 inches (90 x 65 mm). Weight: 75.3 dwt (118 grams).
CONDITION: Overall condition good, light signs of wear. The item is described to the best of our knowledge. Please refer to pictures and email with any questions.
ESTIMATE PRICE: $10,000 - $20,000.
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago Russian GOLD cigarette cases made in samorodok technique were sold on Live Auctioneers, Sotheby's and Christie's for $14,000 (2 years ago), $24,470 (15 years ago), $46,600 (15 years ago) and $63,300 (2 years ago) - please see the screenshots.
INVESTMENT: You have a GREAT CHANCE to purchase a unique item for your collection - over the years it will only INCREASE in price.
NO RESERVE: More than 90% of all auctioned items have NO reserve price. The rest have a very reasonable reserve.
OFFER: If an item is NOT SOLD, you can still give us a reasonable offer - please save the link of this page.
PAYMENT: For this particular item please use Wire transfer, Zelle, Certified Check or Money Order as a method of payment.
PAY in PARTS: You can pay for any item during 3-6 months. Just make a 10% deposit and the item will wait for you. We have been offering a possibility of deferring a payment for more than a year now and many people like it and have taken advantage of it.
SHIPPING: Domestic shipping for this particular item is $18.85. NO pick up fee, NO handling fee, NO transportation fee. Combined shipping is available. Next item will be ONE DOLLAR for shipping.
NEW: Returning customers will have 50% DISCOUNT on shipping.
WELCOME: We welcome NEW bidders. We will send the item according your instruction.
PLEASE NOTE: If you want to buy this item, please make a bid now. Any offer is welcome. Some lots, that do Not Have any Bids on them, WILL be CLOSED before the auction is started and will not be included in it. Now, there are 700+ items for preview, but there will be ONLY 450 items in the Live Auction.

WIKIPEDIA: In metalwork, reticulation refers to a decorative surface finishing technique involving the application of localised heat to the surface of a metal object. Reticulation is typically performed on alloys of silver and copper or of gold and copper. Reticulation exploits the difference between the melting temperature of an unalloyed metal and that of an alloy of the metal; by depleting the base metal content in the surface layer, a piece can be heated in such a manner so as to render the interior of the piece molten while leaving the surface of the piece intact. The reticulated surface is formed by the thermal expansion and contraction of the interior metal which is effected by deliberate variation in the application of localised heat. In the late 19th century, reticulation was used as a decorative technique by Russian goldsmiths such as FABERGE, where the process was referred to as samorodok (lit. "born by itself"). Use of the technique spread to the Nordic and Scandinavian countries where it was applied in the creation of objects such as cigarette boxes, card cases, eyeglass cases, and flasks.

HISTORY of Workmasters and Marks at FABERGE SHOP: To understand how the gold, silver, and jewelry industry was structured in Russia at this time, it is worth quoting from Max Engman's article "Finnish Goldsmiths in St. Petersburg during Two Centuries,” in Tillander-Godenhielm, et al., Carl Faberge and His Contemporaries (1980): Most of the Finnish masters were only concerned with production; very few had their own shops. As a rule, Finnish workshops worked either under contract or as free subsidiary suppliers to firms who took care of sales. The high degree of specialization in the field favoured the adoption of a system of subsidiary suppliers. The House of Faberge had an organisation of this kind. In addition to the workshops which operated on the firm's premises, many of which were presided over by Finnish masters, Faberge employed many other workshops as subsidiary suppliers.

Used