"1916 Porte cigarettes lines effect á Fernande-Guillaux Legrairie par Georges Saxe - Bouleau Russie Nord - Fermir en or + 2 sapphire".
The case is something special, indeed. A Russian exotic wood match vesta set with an 18k gold clasp which has 2 sapphires, one to blue and one to violet in coloration. Let me say that the family this comes from had Russian heritage and the wood is rare and precious Russian wood called Karelian birch (a culturally loaded Russian material). The gift was given in 1916, which is mid WWI, with Russian and French alliance. The cigar case attending is in rick moire silk, lined in exquisitely fine leather and trimmed at edge in silver 'beads'. The 2 objects came via France and a family in northeastern France with upper class standing. A family heirloom but with no more story than the note an ancestor long gone has written and tucked inside the fine object. My first thought was Faberge, but the assay marks are French control, and eagle's profile for 18k gold. Remarkable beauty, far beyond just another match vesta and cigar case. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent for age and type, instantly readable as a refined and very elegant coupling of custom crafted accessories. There is light wear to the old silk, visible in our photos. The impossibly thin wood shows an imperfection at clasp, likely from just the repetition of closing it with a 'snap' to it. One sapphire looks to have a small chip in one photo, but under magnification I could find none. Beautiful little work of art!
