The Most Famous Easter Eggs – Fabergé Eggs

Events

As we approach Easter, we thought we would share some details about some of the world’s most famous Easter eggs. In 1885, Russian Emperor Alexander III commissioned a jeweled egg from Peter Carl Fabergé, House of Fabergé, for his wife. It was known as the Hen Egg with an outer enamel shell and gold band around the middle. When opened, it reveals a golden yolk which opens to show a golden hen sitting on golden straw. Inside the hen was a miniature diamond replica of the Imperial crown and ruby pendant.

The gift was a hit with the tsarina and Peter Carl Fabergé was appointed a “goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown” and a second egg was commissioned. Fabergé was given freedom to design future eggs – the only requirement that each contain a surprise and each be unique. As many as 69 eggs were created and 61 are known to have survived.

The most famous of the eggs created are the Imperial Easter eggs, with 10 commissioned by Alexander III and 40 commissioned by his son Nicolas II. Forty-four (44) of these have survived and there are photos of 3 of the lost eggs. Ten (10) of the Imperial eggs are displayed at the Kremlin Armory Museum in Moscow.

The eggs have a bit of a cult status and have been featured in films, TV series, documentaries and more. They are symbols of power and wealth of the Russian Empire.

We at Bridgewaters don’t have any Fabergé eggs, but stop in to check out our own line of jewelry, The Bridgewater Collection.