"It contradicts our values." Why the only Fabergé boutique in Ukraine closed down

The Zarina jewelry house has closed its only Fabergé boutique in Kyiv. The reason is a complete breakdown of cooperation between the Ukrainian company and the Dutch one. Fabergé LimitedThis legal entity was acquired by SMG Capital (USA), owned by British businessman of Russian origin Sergey Mosunov.

Zarina opened another store of a jewelry brand new to Ukraine in the place of the Fabergé boutique, which used to operate in Kyiv's Passage.

LIGA.net found out what this brand is and whether the new player will be able to compensate for the closure of Fabergé amid the shrinking Ukrainian jewelry market.

Why Zarina? parted ways with Fabergé

The Zarina jewelry house has been the exclusive representative of Fabergé in Eastern Europe since 2012. The London office did not produce Russian aesthetics, and the history of the jewelry brand was connected with Ukrainian cities – Kyiv and Odesa, says Zarina Netovkina, creative director of Zarina.

However, after the purchase of Fabergé by a Russian, the situation may change, she suggests. According to Netovkina, the new owner of the company is a supporter of the "Russian world," although he lives in London. "Sooner or later, pro-Russian collections will appear, which contradicts our values," Netovkina believes.

Finally, the new owner is already announced, which will resume production on the territory of the Russian Federation.

And although the international Fabergé team was keen to continue the collaboration, the Ukrainian house decided to terminate the partnership.

The divorce at the document level is still ongoing, but the Fabergé sign has already been removed from the boutique on Horodotska Street, and financial relations with the jewelry house have been terminated. However, Fabergé products are still sold there. These are goods that Zarina has purchased. Their value remains in Ukraine. "Not a single penny from these jewels will go to the new Fabergé office," Netovkina adds.

A modern stamp instead of an old one

In late October 2025, the boutique in Kyiv's Pasazh changed its sign from Fabergé to Natkina. This is the brand of Martina Netovkina, the eldest daughter of Zarina's founder, Natalia Netovkina. (Creative director Zarina Netovkina is the middle daughter.)

Natkina offers jewelry in the demi-fine jewelry niche: semi-precious jewelry. Instead of diamonds, they use American cubic zirconia. Thanks to high-tech granulation, they become similar to natural diamonds, sapphires, or rubies.

The brand has four stores in Switzerland, in Geneva, Zurich, Lucerne, and Lausanne. It also has one store each in Qatar and France.

"We didn't see the potential in opening another Zarina store," explains Zarina Netovkina. "The family brand hedged its bets in this way – so that a beautiful location in the city center wouldn't go to waste."

The number of stores of the Zarina jewelry house has halved during the war: before 2022, the chain had over 40 retail outlets (21 own boutiques and 24 franchise partners), in 2025 – 17 own boutiques and one franchise partner.

Natkina is an abbreviation of parts of the name and surname of the founder of the Zarina brand, Natalia Netovkina. This jewelry brand emerged as a result of the Zara vs. Zarina lawsuit. In 2011, the Ukrainian company entered the Swiss market and registered its trademark there. The Spanish brand filed a lawsuit due to the similarity of the names and forced the jewelry house to rebrand.

Currently, Natkina is a separate Swiss company owned by Martina Netovkina. The eldest daughter of Zarina's founder promotes the concept that a woman can look like a million without spending a million. The brand's price range is from 140 euros for earrings to 1,000 euros for an evening necklace.

Bestselling jewelry from the Natkina brand was brought to Kyiv for the opening of the flagship boutique. "We have increased production, but there will be no separate collections for Ukraine. The same jewelry will be produced for Switzerland and France, as well as for Ukraine," explains Martina Netovkina.

The prospects for the new brand at Zarina are preliminarily estimated to be more than optimistic. According to Martina Netovkina, the boutiques in Switzerland have an annual turnover of 1.5 million Swiss francs. (The Swiss franc/euro exchange rate in November 2025 is 1/1.08, editor's note)

"I expect our Kyiv store to bring in at least that much. Given the demand we're seeing today, it could even surpass that figure," predicts Martina Netovkina.

The jewelry was tested on an online platform, and demand exceeded expectations. "Ukrainian women love jewelry. Despite the difficult financial situation in the country, they want to look like a million with luxurious jewelry at an affordable price," adds Netovkina.

The brand is planned to be promoted through advertising platforms and events with the target audience, involving influencer bloggers. There are currently no plans to open Natkina boutiques in shopping malls.

Will it be possible to compensate for the closure?

In 2024, the total revenue of manufacturers of jewelry and similar products in Ukraine was approximately 1.5 times higher than in 2023. At the same time, demand for jewelry decreased by 15-20% compared to the pre-war period, he said in a comment LIGA.net Ihor Ilchyshyn, founder of the Kimberli jewelry house. And in 2025, the market fell by 10% compared to the previous year.

"Demand in the Ukrainian jewelry market is recovering slowly, but it is becoming more sophisticated — consumers are focusing not on mass appeal, but on design and the emotional value of jewelry," he explains. This opens up a niche for demi-fine jewelry. Therefore, brands like Natkina have a chance to establish themselves, Ilchyshyn explains.

However, for these prospects to become a reality, investments are needed. This is according to Stepan Slinchuk, former director of the SOVA jewelry house. In 2022, the company launched a new brand of jewelry gifts, Love You. "It took years to bring this company to break-even," he notes.

The situation is complicated by the fact that in recent years the market has been declining in volume, new stores are not opening, and precious metals are becoming more expensive. For example, the price of gold since the beginning of 2025, it has increased by more than 50%. "Boutiques are holding prices to avoid scaring off buyers, but profitability is falling," he emphasizes.

Natkina's results can be evaluated at least after Christmas, which is the best period for selling jewelry, according to Yelyzaveta Knyzhenko, co-owner of the jewelry brand dukachi. In her opinion, there is a place for a new brand in the Ukrainian jewelry market: competition in this niche in Ukraine is not very tough.

The emergence of a new player is quite logical – the modern market needs a variety of choices, says Yulia Kusher, founder of the Ukrainian brand of lab-grown diamonds, Solo for Diamonds.

According to her, Natkina can successfully establish itself in its segment. "Consumers are more often drawn to more affordable jewelry – which can bring joy in the moment. It's great that they noticed this in time and changed their strategy," Kusher emphasizes.