There isn't one single answer, as various Fabergé eggs have been stolen, but recent high-profile cases include Richard Tobin, who stole several items from Christie's in 2014 (including Fabergé pieces) but never recovered them, and an unnamed New Zealand man who swallowed a Fabergé egg pendant in 2025, which was later recovered after he passed it. The history of Imperial eggs also includes periods where they were confiscated and sold, leading to some disappearing.
A quick overview of the missing Imperial Easter Eggs. There are now seven missing Imperial Easter Eggs. They are the Eggs for the years 1886, 1888, 1889, 1897, 1902, 1903 and 1909. And yes, they are all seven Maria Feodorovna's Eggs!
Diamond Fabergé Egg Fetches $30.2 Million at Historic Auction. Long shrouded in mystery and believed lost for two decades, the fabled Fabergé Winter Egg has resurfaced — and just shattered expectations at Christie's, selling for £22.9 million ($30.2 million).
For a time, the so-called Rothschild Egg, which sold in at Christie's London in 2007 for £8.9 million (roughly $20.9 million today), held the record for the priciest Fabergé egg. Not anymore.
The hammer price was £19,500,000, which amounts to £22,895,000 with fees – the equivalent of $30.2 million. The piece was commissioned from Fabergé by Emperor Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1913.
Fabergé egg fetches record $30.2 million at rare auction. The Winter Egg, pictured here ahead of Tuesday's auction, is one of the last Fabergé eggs left in private hands.
After Fabergé's death in 1920, royal fascination with his work endured. In the 1930s, King George V (1865-1936) and Queen Mary (1867-1953) purchased the three Imperial Easter Eggs in the Collection – the Basket of Flowers Egg, the Colonnade Egg Clock and the Mosaic Egg.
Of the 52 known Fabergé eggs, 46 have survived to the present day. Ten of the imperial Easter eggs are displayed at Moscow's Kremlin Armory Museum.
Of the approximately 50 eggs made for the imperial family between 1885 and 1916, 42 have survived. Nine of them are owned by Viktor Vekselberg, an oil and gas tycoon, who, with a fortune estimated at $18bn, is often described as Russia's richest man.
There are no flaws in the enamel of the Clover Leaf Egg, but it is considered too fragile to travel.
There is a small, jeweled egg, which is made of precious metals and hard stones. Silver, gold, copper, nickel, and palladium in addition to sapphires, rubies, diamonds and emeralds are various metals and stones that could be used in this egg. It is decorated with enamel and gems while hanging from a chain.
The decorations are delicate and harmonious with the rest of the piece. Real Fabergé items have a tactile balance about them as well. It's a hard thing to describe, but when you hold them in your hand, you can sense the quality of the item. They are classy and elegant, even in their most simple designs.
In 1885, the House of Fabergé received its first commission for an imperial Easter egg and was awarded the title of 'Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty'. Only 50 Fabergé eggs were made, and each took the firm a year to complete.
The VMFA is significant because it is the largest public collection of Fabergé eggs in the United States, and more importantly, outside of Russia. In 1954, the VMFA opened the first permanent Fabergé gallery exhibition, and in 1996, VMFA presented Fabergé in America and The Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé.
In 2025, the tech entrepreneur Sergei Mosunov purchased the rights to the Fabergé brand from Gemfields plc in a deal worth $50 million.
First Fabergé Egg
This first egg, known as the “Hen Egg,” features a white enamelled outer shell that twists open to reveal a golden yolk within, housing a hen. Further unfolding reveals a surprise: a tiny diamond replica of the imperial crown and a ruby pendant (now lost). The Hen Egg (1885).
Fabergé died at the Hotel Bellevue in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 September 1920. He had escaped Russia in September 1918 under disguise as a courier with the British legation. His family believed he died of a broken heart. His wife, Augusta, died in 1925.
The Louvre Unveils Fabergé Triptych with Romanov Family Provenance. Recently acquired for $2.5 million, it mirrors the grandeur of the Russian workshop's famous imperial Easter eggs.
The Fabergé Museum in Shuvalov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. To view the original Fabergé eggs, you must travel to the Blue Room of Naryshki-Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka River Embankment in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The extreme scarcity of these luxury creations gives them strong potential as investments, with unique one-of-a-kind pieces having even more room for value appreciation. The Fabergé Winter Egg from 1913 famously sold for nearly $10M in 2002.
In a world first, Regent Seven Seas Cruises® and the House of Fabergé ushered in a new era for the art of luxury when they introduced the only Fabergé egg to set sail as a permanent exhibit at sea.
On Tuesday it was sold for £22,895,000, beating the world record auction for a Fabergé. The previous record was set in 2007 when the Rothschild egg was sold for £8.9m. According to Christie's, the auction is the third time the Winter egg has set a record-breaking price for a Fabergé piece.
On 8 December 2014, the Rothschild egg was given to the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.