Johan Viktor Aarne

Johan Viktor Aarne was born in Tampere, Finland in 1863. He was an acclaimed gold-silversmith who worked both in Finland and for Faberge in Russia. He did his apprenticeship with Johan Erik Hellsten. Hellsten was a gold-silversmith in Tampere Finland. Aarne became a journeyman in Hameenlinne in 1880. Aarne worked in August Wilhelm Holmström's Faberge studio for ten years between 1880-1890. He returned to Tampere in 1890 to obtain the title of Master and stayed there in his own studio for a year before returning to Russia. Between 1891 and 1904 he worked for Faberge in St. Petersburg. During this time period he used his Cyrillic signature, BA. In 1904 he sold his workshop to Karl Gustaf Hjalmar Armfeldt. Aarne returned to Finland and opened a successful workshop which he ran for over 30 years. During this time period he used the signature of J.V.A. He passed away in Vyborg, Finland in 1934. Johan Viktor Aarne is most renowned for his enameled and bejeweled photo frames.