Editor’s Note
The iconic Fabergé brand, famed for its jeweled eggs, has been acquired by investment firm SMG Capital for $50 million, ending its decade-long ownership under gemstone miner Gemfields.
The parent company of Fabergé Limited — the high jewelry firm globally renowned for its exclusive enameled and jeweled eggs, originally created for Russian tsars — has sold the brand to investment firm SMG Capital for $50 million. Fabergé had been under the ownership of Gemfields since 2013, when the British mining company, specializing in the extraction and marketing of responsibly sourced gemstones, acquired it as part of a strategy to vertically integrate its business and associate its gems with a historic luxury brand. With this transaction, Gemfields concludes the strategic review it initiated in December 2024 to evaluate its portfolio and focus on its core activity of mining and supplying gemstones.
Of the total sale price, $45 million will be payable to Gemfields by the American investment firm upon completion of the sale, scheduled for August 28. The remaining sum will be paid through quarterly royalty payments at a rate of eight percent of Fabergé’s revenue.
According to Gemfields’ press release, the sale is not expected to be subject to regulatory or other approval processes. The group will use the proceeds to provide additional working capital.
By divesting the brand, along with the discontinuation of other projects, Gemfields, which owns and operates gemstone mines in Africa, said it is now “a more agile and focused investment proposition with a strengthened balance sheet.”
In the company’s financial statements published on April 11, it was reported that Fabergé’s net assets were valued at $50.3 million; however, alongside this, losses continued to mount, despite identified global growth potential. Gemfields thus initiated a strategic review after facing “considerable challenges” in the last quarter of fiscal year ’24, culminating in the eventual sale of the famed jewelry brand.
Under the direction of SMG, a firm dedicated to investing in premium and luxury brands, Fabergé is expected to continue consolidating its positioning within the global luxury market, according to the firm’s CEO and owner, Sergei Mosunov.