Blue Serpent Clock Egg
Gold, diamonds, enamel; h. 18.3 cm
by House of Fabergé, and Mikhail Perkhin, 1895
Collection of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
After a photograph by Shakko

Presented by Tsar Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the egg is crafted from varicoloured gold and features a body coated in translucent blue enamel, in the Louis XVI style. Decorated with bands of gold set with small rose-cut diamonds, the egg rests on a shaft of similarly coloured gold embellished with opalescent white enamel. A key design element is the gold serpent, set with diamonds, that coils around the shaft and reaches the middle of the egg. The serpent's head and tongue function as a clock hand, pointing to the hour displayed on a panel of solid white enamel. This clock design was reused by Fabergé for the Duchess of Marlborough egg in 1902, highlighting the Blue Serpent Clock Egg's influence on Fabergé's later creations. The egg was gifted to Prince Rainier III of Monaco by Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos in 1974 to celebrate his Silver Jubilee, the 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne.