The firm “Fabergé” was founded in 1842 by jeweller Gustav Fabergé, but it was when son Peter Carl joined the firm that it became more prominent. In 1869 he sold the first pieces to the St. Petersburg Hermitage. The first actual Imperial Fabergé egg was crafted for Tsar Alexander III, who decided to give his wife, the Empress Maria Fedorovna, a Jewelled Easter Egg in 1885 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their betrothal. It is believed that the Tsar’s inspiration for the piece was an egg owned by the Empress’s aunt, Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Denmark, which had captivated Maria’s imagination in her childhood. This first egg was known as the Hen Egg and was crafted from gold. Its opaque white enameled ‘shell’ opens to reveal its first surprise, a matte yellow gold yolk. This in turn then opens to reveal a multi-coloured gold hen that also opens. It contains a minute diamond replica of the Imperial Crown from which a small ruby pendant was suspended. Unfortunately these last two surprises have been lost over the years.

Empress Maria was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a ‘goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’. He commissioned another egg the following year. After that, Peter Carl Fabergé, who headed the House, was apparently given complete freedom for future Imperial Easter Eggs, as from this date their designs become more elaborate. According to the Fabergé family tradition, not even the Tsar knew what form they would take: the only requirement was that each one should contain a surprise. Following the death of Alexander III on November 1^st 1894, his son presented a Fabergé egg to both his wife, the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, and to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna.

However, no Fabergé eggs were made for 1904 and 1905 because of the Russo-Japanese War. Once an initial design had been approved by Peter Carl Fabergé, the work was carried out by an entire team of craftsmen, among them Michael Perkhin, Henrik Wigström and Erik August Kollin.

The Imperial eggs enjoyed great fame, and Fabergé made some other large eggs for a few select private clients, such as the Duchess of Marlborough, the Nobels, the Rothschilds and the Yusupovs. A series of seven jewelled eggs was made for the industrialist Alexander Kelch.

One of the most famous, recent Fabergé style Eggs made was seen in the 1983 James Bond 007 film Octopussy, starring Roger Moore and Maude Adams. In the film the Fabergé Egg was the object of a bidding war between James Bond and Kamal Khan. Bond replaces the real egg with a replica. This Jewelled Egg was made by the world famous Asprey Jewellers London and was based on the original design of the Coronation Fabergé Egg.

Below is the complete list of the Tsar Fabergé Eggs made:

† Indicates the egg is missing.