$33 million Faberge Egg discovered by scrap metal dealer
LONDON, March 19 (UPI) — A U.S. scrap metal dealer intending to melt down an ornament for its gold was shocked to discover it was a $33 million Faberge egg, a British expert said.Kieran McCarthy of London jeweler Wartski said the scrap metal dealer, who wished to remain anonymous, bought the gold egg for $13,302 from an antiques dealer about a decade ago and had planned to melt it down and sell the metal, but the project was put on hold when he was unable to find a buyer, the Telegraph reported Wednesday.
McCarthy said the egg stayed in the man’s home until a night in 2012 when he decided to Google “egg” and “Vacheron Constantin,” the name etched on the timepiece inside the egg.
The man discovered a Telegraph article from earlier that year that included an interview with McCarthy and a picture of the egg in his possession.
“He saw the article and recognized his egg in the picture. He flew straight over to London — the first time he had ever been to Europe — and came to see us. He hadn’t slept for days,” McCarthy said. “He brought pictures of the egg and I knew instantaneously that was it. I was flabbergasted — it was like being Indiana Jones and finding the Lost Ark.”