Pallinghurst, a UK registered, South African based private equity fund run by former BHP Billiton chief Brian Gilbertson, today brought in South African bank Investec as a co-investor and said it was ready to turn the Faberge brand into the world's most exclusive luxury brand.

The Faberge brand, established in 1842 by Russian jeweller Gustav Faberge, famed for its jewel encrusted eggs sold to Russian Tsars, was bought by Pallinghurst for some $30 to $40 million in January after two years negotiations from Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever.

Mr Gilbertson's London-based son Sean Gilbertson, also a partner in Pallinghurst, said today: "You can buy Faberge jewellery today in Harrods, but the man in the street has no idea. Everyone has heard of the name but no one realises you can buy Faberge goods. That gives you an idea of the enormous potential the brand has."

He said he aimed to position the brand above the likes of Cartier, Gucci and Bulgari. Under Unilever, he claimed, although there were some 10 companies around the world licensed to make Faberge goods, but "there has never been any coordinated marketing or design control agreements around these licences."

Pallinghurst is whittling down the number of licensees down to just six - including a silk tie maker, a maker of crystalware and cutlery, a Germany-based maker of jewellery, a watch maker and a maker of spectacles and sunglasses.

It also hopes to bring members of the Faberge family into the venture.

Mr Gilbertson said he was close to finding a natural resources company that would source gemstones for the business and Faberge would offer diamonds that guaranteed the location they were mined, avoiding the problem of conflict diamonds obtained in guerilla wars.

Seperately, Pallinghurst, US coal mining company AMCI and Investec are in the process of buying a 60 per cent stake in Australian publicly listed base metal miner Consolidated Minerals.

Investec and AMCI will each contribute some $200 million to a fundraising in exchange for the right to "cherry pick" Pallinghurst investments as they arise, said Mr Gilbertson.

Together with between some $500 million and $1 billion being raised for Pallinghurst by Merrill Lynch and Investec, the firm could have up to $1.5 billion to invest.

Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, an associate of Brian Gilbertson and his former employer at Russian aluminium firm Sual, who in 2004 spent a rumoured $100 million buying nine Faberge eggs from the Forbes family and returning them to Russia, had been expected to be an investor in Pallinghurst but Mr Gilbertson said that at this stage he was not, although "we would welcome him as an investor."

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