Precious Time: A Fabergé Desk Clock, 1910

Desk Clock
Enamel, Ivory, Gilt Silver
Henrik Wigström for Fabergé, 1910
Gifted to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
The Royal Collection

King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra had a particular fondness for the work of Henrik Wigstöm from the House of Fabergé. Their love of his work carried over into the next generations of The Royal Family. Both George V and his successor, George VI collected Wigström’s works.


This delicate desk clock was created in 1910 by Wigström for Fabergé. With an intricate pattern of moiré gray guilloche surrounding a smooth ivory face set in gilt silver, the clock was meant to be displayed on a desk. The design is interesting in that in combines the simple elegance of Edwardian design with the hallmark patterns of French Louis XVI sensibilities.

Curiously, this clock was not collected by Queen Alexandra or King Edward VII. It was, instead, purchased from Fabergé’s London Gallery in 1910 by the Prince de la Moscova, eventually being gifted to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother who added the shimmering piece to the Royal Collection.