A La Vieille Russie – in Forbes (advertising)

A La Vieille Russie
Source: Forbes Magazine (Advertising)

AH LAH VEE-AYE ROOSEE

… an old firm in the modern world.
145 years young!

WE have seen a great deal since our founding as a family business in Kiev in 1851. And, from this vantage point, we have seen the earlier forms of the computer take shape. In the late 18th and early 19th century, small, elaborate, gold, jeweled objects were made in Switzerland which have had a profound influence on the world – of computers.

To become a ‘master’ in the watch-making guilds, you had to make a ‘master-piece’. (The origin of the word: masterpiece.) Some of these pieces include automated animals and figures as well as question-and-answer boxes where a question was inserted in one end and bells and music played, wands waved, cogs turned and another door popped open with the answer – all within a box hardly more than 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. You had jumping animals, singing birds, people doing whatever and sometimes you could even tell the time! These pieces were – and still are – referred to as ‘automata’ – and from automata comes automation and on and on…. Miniaturization was already there – way before the space shuttle brought us so much more in the way of miniaturization.

The quality, craftsmanship and innovation sought in the rapidly advancing world of the computer, the chip, and the I-net were sought as well in the world of art. That is what makes a great piece of art worthy of being collected – and worn – still today. ‘Icon’ and ‘mosaic’ – to name just two are words that come from the world of art.

Quality – authenticity – beauty – variety – value – style – and service are important elements to our business and have helped us form many collections for the seasoned collector as well as the beginner. One is just as important as the other – just as important as expert advice in the growing technology age is.

A great many of our clients use us as a resource for gifts for all occasions: births, graduation, wedding, anniversary, and, of course, birthdays and special holidays. It is not always easy to find pieces in all price ranges – and still maintain our quality level – but we try. We are very pleased that “something from Vieille Russie” is still prized. Prized, not purely for its prestige – but because of the authenticity of the pieces!

Technology has, however, brought the art world one big problem – fakes are much more sophisticated than before. Authenticity, fakes, knock-offs, look-alikes are problems in other areas too, but you can imagine that there are a lot of ‘antiques’ being made today because of the high price of art and because there are a lot of people who ‘want it to be o.k.’. Forgers are trying to ‘stay ahead of the curve’ – even to the point of using lasers to copy marks – but you must look at the whole piece. The quality must be there before the name goes on.

We offer 146 years of expertise!

We invite you to visit our shop – at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. That is really the best way you can see the wide variety of what we have to offer. Or, you can write us for a new small catalogue we have just completed which will give you an overview.

We look forward to your visit – and the next 146 years.

A LA VIEILLE RUSSIE
(AH LAH VEE-AYE ROO-SEE)
Reprint from Forbes Magazine