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Fabergé’s Winter Egg Sells for Record £22.9M at Christie’s London

Fabergé's Winter Egg sold at Christie's London for £22.9 million (≈$30 million), setting a new auction record for the maker. Commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913, the 14 cm crystal egg is set with about 4,500 rose-cut diamonds and contains a hidden bouquet of white quartz anemones. The piece — moved after the 1917 revolution, sold by the Soviet government, acquired by Wartski, lost for years and rediscovered in 1994 — previously sold for $9.6 million in 2002 and underscores strong demand for rare Romanov-era works.

05:36 AM, 12/03/2025Culture
Fabergé’s Winter Egg Sells for Record £22.9M at Christie’s London

Fabergé's Winter Egg, widely regarded as one of the jeweller's most exquisite masterpieces, sold at Christie's in London for £22.9 million (about $30 million), establishing a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé.

The result marks the third time the Winter Egg has set an auction record for a piece by the house. An anonymous buyer paid the final hammer price after competitive international interest; Christie's had placed a pre-sale estimate of just over £20 million on the object.

"Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece," said Christie's specialist Margo Oganesian shortly after the sale.

Commissioned in 1913 by Tsar Nicholas II as a gift for his mother, the Winter Egg is carved from rock crystal, stands 14 centimetres (about 5½ inches) high and is set with roughly 4,500 rose-cut diamonds. The crystal body and base are decorated with diamond-set platinum snowflakes that accentuate its wintry motif.

Its interior contains a hidden surprise: a delicate bouquet of white quartz anemones with gold-wire stems arranged in a platinum basket — a hallmark of Fabergé's technical ingenuity and meticulous craftsmanship.

Fabergé produced 50 Imperial Easter eggs for the Romanov family between the 1880s and 1917; 43 survive today and seven remain missing. The tradition began under Tsar Alexander III and continued with Nicholas II, who commissioned two eggs each year — one for his mother and one for his wife — until the dynasty's fall in 1917.

The Winter Egg's provenance reflects the upheavals of 20th-century Russian history. It was moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in 1920, sold by the Soviet government to raise foreign currency, and acquired by London jeweller Wartski sometime between 1929 and 1933. Thought lost after 1975, it resurfaced in 1994 and was brought to Christie's for sale in Geneva; it later set a record in New York in 2002 when it sold for $9.6 million.

Collectors' appetite for Imperial-era treasures has increased in recent decades, particularly among buyers drawn to objects that combine historical significance with exceptional craftsmanship. The Winter Egg's rarity, condition and intact surprise helped propel it to a landmark price at auction.

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