A cinema, spa, swimming pool and helipad: the $325 million mega yacht Amadea, which was launched in July 2014 at the Lürssen-Kröger shipyard in Germany, is certainly a floating palace. However, there could also be a very special decorative object aboard: a precious Fabergé egg.
This discovery was made by the US authorities in April, but was only made public recently during the Aspen Security Forum. Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco did not name the yacht seized at the time, but did mention its current berth in the port of San Diego, which put media such as The Guardian on the right track.
See also: Fabergé Eggs: 8 Little Known Facts
The owner of the Amadea, which sails under the flag of the Cayman Islands, is believed to be the Russian oligarch and member of parliament Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov, who has been on the European Union's sanctions list since March and on that of the United States since 2018.
Whether the treasure on the luxury yacht is actually a real Fabergé egg - perhaps even one of the imperial eggs that disappeared after the Russian Revolution of 1917 - has yet to be clarified.
See also: Do You Know the Origin of the Easter Egg?
The first imperial egg was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III in 1885 as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna from the jeweller and goldsmith Fabergé. After the death of his father, Nicholas II continued this tradition and gave his mother and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna a precious Fabergé egg each for Easter. There were 52 Imperial Eggs in total, six of which are believed to have been lost.
Whether there actually is a yacht with a Fabergé egg remains to be seen. However, what has been proven to exist is a Fabergé egg with a yacht: the Standart Yacht egg that Nicholas gave to Alexandra in 1909 for Easter. The egg is made of rock crystal and decorated with dolphins and eagles made of lapis lazuli. Inside is a gold model of the Imperial Yacht Standart.
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The Standart was used by Nicholas II and his family from 1896. With a length of 420 feet, it was at the time the largest royal yacht, luxuriously furnished, even if the luxury of that time pales in comparison to that of today, such as on the Amadea.
