Rosebud (Fabergé egg)

The Rosebud Egg of 1895, the first egg Nicholas II gave his new wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. Translucent red enamel over a wave-patterned guilloché ground gives the Louis XVI-style shell its glow. The enameled yellow rosebud beside it is the surprise; it once held a tiny diamond and ruby crown and a cabochon ruby pendant, both removed before the Soviet sale and never traced. It belongs to the Link of Times Foundation in St. Petersburg.