A Fabergé egg is any one of fifty (fifty two, including the unfinished Karelian Birch and Tsarevich Constellation examples) Easter eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917. The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term 'Fabergé Egg' has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweller's art.Fabergé and his goldsmiths designed and constructed the first egg in 1885. It was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III of Russia as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna.
On the outside the first egg looked like a simple egg of white enamelled gold, but it opened up to reveal a golden yolk. The yolk itself had a golden hen inside it, which in turn had a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside, reminiscent of the matryoshka nesting dolls.. The 1897 Coronation Egg opens to reveal a removable miniature replica of the Imperial coach (see right)
The 1909 Standart Egg, also known as Standart Yacht Egg, is made of gold, diamonds, rose-cut diamonds, pearls, lapis lazuli, rock crystal and green and white enamel. The miniature yacht is made of gold, platinum and enamel. The 1909 Standart Egg was never sold and is one of the ten Imperial Easter Eggs in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow.
