It has been a time for Easter egg hunts and of chocolate eggs with things inside.  This ornate egg was bought by a friend during her visit to Russia a few years ago and made to resemble one of the famous Faberge eggs.  It opens up to reveal a little musical box and a place for putting rings so I decided to find out more about the Faberge eggs.
Faberge eggs are famous for their exquisite jewelled designs and were commissioned by the Russian Imperial family.  In 1885 Tsar Alexander III wanted an egg as an Easter gift for his wife so asked Peter Fabergé to make one decorated with many jewels and a surprise inside.  It had an enamelled shell revealing a gold yolk, a gold hen, and a miniature version of the imperial crown holding a ruby pendant. His wife was delighted so he commissioned ten during the following years and his son, Tsar Nicholas II commissioned 40 with two eggs ordered annually and presented to his mother and wife.  Each egg took a year to make.  The tradition ended in 1917 with the Russian Revolution and today, only 43 of the original 50 Imperial eggs are accounted for.  The hunt continues but most likely the others have been destroyed.  The most recently discovered was in 2014. 
The Third Imperial Egg, presented to Empress Maria Feodorovna by Tsar Alexander III, was one of the many artifacts seized from the Romanovs during the Russian Revolution and then sold to Western collectors by the Bolsheviks to fund their new government (the process was dubbed “treasures to tractors”). The egg disappeared from public record and was feared lost until—unbeknownst to seller or buyer—it traded hands at an antiques stall in the U.S. in 2010. A Midwestern scrap dealer had purchased the egg in hopes of turning a quick profit, but he soon found that the money he could get for its parts would not cover his investment. He began looking for other options and in 2011 discovered an article in Britain’s Daily Telegraph that described a “frantic search” for a 3.2-inch-tall egg, which rested on an elaborate gold stand with lion paw feet and was adorned with sapphires and a diamond button that, when pressed, opened the egg to reveal a Vacheron Constantin clock. The scrap dealer brought the piece to experts in London and discovered that the object he had purchased for $13,302 and had planned to melt down for its gold was valued at $33 million. Today the egg is part of a private collection.