The House of Faberge, a jewelry company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia, produces lavish, ornamental eggs known as Faberge eggs. Peter Carl Faberge created many eggs as Easter presents for the Russian Tsars and their families. Gold, silver, and precious stones are a few materials they use.
The Imperial Coronation Egg is one of the most famous Faberge eggs. Faberge gave it to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Collectors highly valued Faberge eggs since they are considered works of art. There are fifty Faberge eggs, but two are unfinished due to World War II. Nevertheless, Kremlin Armory displayed some of the recovered expensive Faberge eggs.
Today, let us discuss the most expensive Faberge eggs.
Expensive Faberge Eggs: Top Five
Here are five of the most expensive Faberge eggs that you might not afford to purchase.
- The Winter Egg (1913)
Faberge Egg, made for Nicholas II, is made of platinum and white enamel and is decorated with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones. London trader Emanuel Snowman purchased the Egg from Antikvariat in 1927. Unfortunately, the last person on this egg before it vanished was Bryan Ledbrook, who passed away in 1975.
A London bank safe yielded the painting in 1994, and on November 16 that year, Christie’s Geneva auctioned it off for $5.6 million. It was sold at auction in 2002 by Christie’s in New York for $9.6 million to the Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
- The Third Imperial Easter Egg (1887)
The Third Imperial Egg is the most expensive Faberge egg ever created and, in 1887, was presented to Alexander III. The following year, he gave it to his wife, Maria Feodorovna, for Easter. Elegantly designed by August Holmstrom and crafted by Peter Carl Faberge’s assistant. It is 18-karat gold and adorned with diamonds, white enamel, and various gemstones.
It sold the Third Imperial Faberge egg for an estimated $30 million with a private buyer. Additionally, in a 1964 sale catalog, the lost genuine Faberge egg was found in 2011 by two Faberge specialists. The sale price was only $2450.
- The Rothschild Egg (1896)
Faberge Egg, made for Germaine Halphen and Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild. It is made of gold and decorated with diamonds and other precious stones. In addition, covered in diamonds emerges from the top of the rose-colored egg, which features a clock on its façade. It was sold at auction in 2007 for $8.9 million. Today, the estimated value of the Rothschild egg is $25 million.
- The Hen Egg (1885)
Emperor Tsar Alexander III gave his brother Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, the order to request a unique Easter gift for his wife, Maria Fedorovna, from the jeweler Faberge. Carl Faberge first came up with the concept of a jeweled Easter egg.
Until the revolutions of 1917, the egg remained at the Anichkov Palace. Then, in 1934, the egg was sold at Christie’s in London as part of the Berry Collection to Mr. Alfred Suenson-Taylor for £85 ($430). It was also purchased from the estate by New York’s A La Vieille Russie and later sold to the Forbes Magazine Collection in 1978.
- The Rosebud Egg (1899)
Faberge Egg, made for Nicholas II, is made of gold and is decorated with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones. It was sold at auction in 2002 for $5.5 million. Today, Viktor Vekselberg from 2004 is holding the Rose Bud egg at the Faberge Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Many believe this expensive Faberge egg could reach $4,000,000 from the $100 million Victor purchased in 2004.
