Police in New Zealand say they are waiting for nature to take its course after a man allegedly tried to smuggle a 33,000 New Zealand dollar ($19,000) pendant out of a jewelry store by swallowing it. The 32-year-old man, who has not been publicly named, is accused of eating an ornate Fabergé octopus pendant at Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on Nov. 28.
Evidence of the alleged theft has not been recovered, police said. “At the time of his arrest he underwent a medical assessment, and an officer is assigned to constantly monitor the man,” Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement. “At this stage the pendant has not been recovered.”
Charging documents viewed by the Guardian confirm the man was charged on Nov. 29 with allegedly stealing the Fabergé x 007 Special Edition Octopussy Egg Surprise Locket, valued at NZ$33,585. He was arrested inside the store minutes after the alleged theft, appeared in the Auckland District Court the next day and did not enter a plea on a charge of theft.
The item is a limited-edition pendant inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, in which a jewel-smuggling operation involving a fake Fabergé egg is central to the plot. The store says only 50 of the eggs were made. The piece is crafted from gold, painted with green enamel and set with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant stands 8.4 centimeters (3.3 inches) tall and is mounted on a stand.
“The egg opens to reveal an 18ct yellow gold octopus nestled inside, adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes,” the item description says. “The octopus surprise pays homage to the eponymous antagonist at the centre of the Octopussy film.” Time and digestion will tell if another octopus surprise is forthcoming, police quipped.
“Anderson added, “Given this man is in Police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred.” The accused is due to appear in court again on Dec. 8.
Separately, in London a rare crystal and diamond Fabergé egg known as the Winter Egg sold at auction for a record 22.9 million pounds ($30.2 million). Christie’s said the 4-inch (10-centimeter) tall piece, crafted for Russia’s ruling family before the 1917 revolution, was compared to the “Mona Lisa” of decorative arts.
The Winter Egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif in platinum and set with about 4,500 tiny diamonds. It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejeweled quartz flowers symbolizing spring. The sale price, which included a buyer’s premium, topped the $18.5 million paid at a 2007 Christie’s auction for a Fabergé egg created for the Rothschild family.
Peter Carl Fabergé and his firm created more than 50 Imperial Easter Eggs for Russia’s imperial family between 1885 and 1917, each unique and containing a hidden surprise. Czar Alexander III began the tradition by giving an egg to his wife each Easter; Nicholas II extended it to his wife and mother. The Winter Egg was commissioned by Nicholas II for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1913 and was one of two eggs designed by female designer Alma Pihl; the other is owned by Britain’s royal family.
After the revolution, some imperial treasures were sold off. The Winter Egg was bought by a London dealer for 450 pounds in the 1920s, was believed lost for two decades, and resurfaced at auction. It sold at Christie’s in 1994 for more than 7 million Swiss francs and again in 2002 for $9.6 million. Each time it has sold it has set records for Fabergé items, Christie’s said.
Margo Oganesian, head of Christie’s Russian art department, called the egg “the ‘Mona Lisa’ for decorative arts,” praising its technical and artistic brilliance. “Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece,” she said. There are 43 surviving imperial Fabergé eggs, most of them in museums.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.