Presented by Nicholas II to his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, for Easter 1899, the Pansy Egg is one of only two Imperial Eggs done in the Art Nouveau style. Hand carved from polished Siberian Jade, it rises from a base of spiraling twigs and leaves studded with ribbons of diamonds. Fanciful Pansies climb the sides of the Egg, their faces a mass of rubies. Here and there on the stems, a newly opened bud, its face - rubies. Inside, the surprise. Locked in place by two silver gilt rings set with rubies is a white Calcite Heart accented with silver gilt swags and borders, a picture frame to hold the one in your heart.

The original Pansy Egg was carved of nephrite, a mineral similar to the Jade used here. The only other difference is that the original surprise was a heart on an easel with paintings of 11 members of the Tsar's family, each portrait covered by a tiny lid of Red Guilloché.

Retail: $20,000.00. Our price: $17,999.90