A crystal Fabergé egg crafted for Russian royalty is expected to sell for more than $26 million

LONDON (AP) — A rare crystal and diamond Fabergé egg crafted for Russia’s ruling family before it was toppled by revolution is going up for auction, valued at more than 20 million pounds ($26.4 million).

Christie’s auction house says the Winter Egg is just one of seven of the opulent ovoids remaining in private hands. It will be offered for sale at Christie’s London headquarters on Tuesday.

The 4-inch (10-centimeter) tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4,500 tiny diamonds. It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejewelled quartz flowers symbolizing spring.

Margo Oganesian, the head of Christie's Russian art department, likened it to a luxurious Kinder Surprise chocolate.

The Winter Egg is a superb example of craft and design, “the ‘Mona Lisa’ for decorative arts," Oganesian said.

One of just two created by female designer Alma Pihl, the egg was commissioned by Czar Nicholas II for his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna as an Easter present in 1913. Pihl's other egg is owned by Britain’s royal family.

Craftsman Peter Carl Fabergé and his company created more than 50 of the eggs for Russia’s imperial family between 1885 and 1917, each elaborately unique and containing a hidden surprise. Czar Alexander III started the tradition by presenting an egg to his wife each Easter. His successor, Nicholas II, extended the gift to his wife and mother.

The Romanov royal family ruled Russia for 300 years before it was ousted by the 1917 revolution. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918.

Bought by a London dealer for 450 pounds when the cash-strapped Communist authorities sold off some of Russia’s artistic treasures in the 1920s, the egg changed hands several times. It was believed lost for two decades until it was auctioned by Christie’s in 1994 for more than 7 million Swiss francs ($5.6 million at the time). It sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million.

Now it is expected to surpass the record $18.5 million paid at a 2007 Christie’s auction for another Fabergé egg created for the Rothschild banking family.

There are 43 surviving imperial Fabergé eggs, most in museums.

The Winter Egg by Faberge is displayed at Christie's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, it is expected to sell for in excess of 20 million UK Pounds when it is auctioned on Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Winter Egg by Faberge is displayed at Christie's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, it is expected to sell for in excess of 20 million UK Pounds when it is auctioned on Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Winter Egg by Faberge is displayed at Christie's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, it is expected to sell for in excess of 20 million UK Pounds when it is auctioned on Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Head of Department Margo Organesian looks towards the Winter Egg by Faberge as it is displayed at Christie's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, it is expected to sell for in excess of 20 million UK Pounds when it is auctioned on Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Winter Egg by Faberge is displayed at Christie's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, it is expected to sell for in excess of 20 million UK Pounds when it is auctioned on Dec. 2. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum ’s first press briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and its epicenter was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, according to Mexico ’s national seismological agency.

The state’s civil defense agency reported various landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state.

Residents and tourists in Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets when the shaking began.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 21.7 miles (35 kilometers), 2.5 miles north-northwest of Rancho Viejo, Guerrero, which is in the mountains about 57 miles northeast of Acapulco.

Sheinbaum, who resumed her press briefing a short time later, said she spoke with Guerrero's Gov. Evelyn Salgado, who told her there was no serious damage reported.

José Raymundo Díaz Taboada, a doctor and human rights defender who lives on one of the peaks ringing Acapulco, said he heard a strong rumble noise and all the neighborhood dogs began barking.

“In that moment the seismic alert went off on my cell phone," he said, "and then the shaking began to feel strong with a lot of noise.”

He said the shaking was lighter than in some previous quakes and he had prepared a backpack of essentials to be ready to leave as the aftershocks continued.

He said he had been unable to reach some friends who live along the Costa Chica southeast of Acapulco because communications were cut.

A view of Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that originated in the Acapulco area. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A view of Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that originated in the Acapulco area. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A couple walks their dogs after leaving their home due to an earthquake that was felt in Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, amid a magnitude 6.5 quake that originated in the Acapulco area. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)