Winter Egg, one of the few Fabergé eggs remaining in private hands, sells at Christie's in London, England, United Kingdom, for £22.9 million (US$30.2 million)

The Winter Egg, one of the few Fabergé eggs remaining in private hands, sells at Christie's in London, England, United Kingdom, for £22.9 million (US$30.2 million), setting a new auction record for a work by the House of Fabergé.

By Rebecca Hamilton1 min read

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The Winter Egg, one of the few Fabergé eggs remaining in private hands, sold at Christie’s in London for £22.9 million (£30.2 million including fees) on 2 December 2025. The sale set a new auction record for a work by the House of Fabergé, surpassing its pre-sale estimate of £20 million.

Commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913 as a gift for his mother, the egg was designed to resemble a block of ice dusted with frost, crafted from rock crystal and adorned with a platinum snowflake motif set with 4,500 rose-cut diamonds. Its interior contained a surprise: a miniature hanging basket with wood anemones made from white quartz, nephrite, and garnets.

The design was conceived by Alma Pihl, a female jeweler and niece of Fabergé’s chief jeweler, who reportedly drew inspiration from ice crystals on a window. The egg’s artistic originality, described as timeless and modern, distinguished it from other Imperial Eggs based on historical styles.