With Love, Fabergé from Russia

On March 27, a Guardians of the Galaxy fan found an Easter egg in the 2014 film. But director James Gunn, who had jokingly offered a $100,000 reward to whoever found the coveted egg, confirmed it wasn't the one, putting legions of fans back on the hunt.

Another Easter egg hunt, far more illustrious, is the one for the missing Imperial Fabergé eggs that has been going on for over a century. They were designed by Russian jeweller Carl Fabergé as a gift every Easter for Tsarevich Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna, and then the Tsar's son Nicholas II and wife Alexandra Feodorovna, from 1885 to 1917. Out of 50, only 43 are known. In 2014, a very nervous man, dressed in an American plaid shirt and jeans approached the London-based antiques dealer Wartski in 2014 with photos of The Third Imperial Egg (1887). He'd Google- searched 'Vacheron Constantin egg' and realised that the egg in his possession might be an original. It was a diamond-clasped, gold-reed shell, studded with blue sapphire cabochons, three-toned roses, creepers and three pairs of lion's feet, hiding a VC white enamel 14k gold clock on the inside. It's estimated worth was $33 million and the egg was later sold at an undisclosed price to a private collector.

Each bejewelled Fabergé egg is unique because the Tsar had instructed Fabergé so: the egg must be designed in secrecy, each must be unique and must hold an element of surprise. You can imagine how exquisite each egg turned out and why many vied for them. Malcolm Forbes, publisher of the Forbes magazine owned nine imperial eggs, after competing with the Soviet government that ended up with 10. About a decade after his death, in 2004, the Forbes family sold them to

Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg for an undisclosed amount. Queen Elizabeth II owns three (along with other Fabergé items).

As every novelty item gets copied, so did the eggs. On November 15, 2010, 354 counterfeit Fabergé eggs were seized from Roissy Airport. The fake eggs were discovered only because the French custom officials wanted to see what they looked like. Ample clones on e-commerce sites can satiate aspirants with lean pockets. These are often heavily inspired by Russian themes for a fantastical outcome. For instance, Russian Nutcracker Collectible Musical Egg by Ardleigh Elliott, available on Amazon for $69, draws inspiration from Fabergé's Nutcracker Ballet, Russian Palekh Masters' black lacquer artistry and the Fabergé ancestry. Along with vignettes from the ballet, the egg gleams with 22k gold accents, scrollwork and simulated gems and has an enamelled pewter sculpture of the Nutcracker Prince as the yolk.

Fabergé-egg-shaped trinkets, bangles, rings and lockets are other renditions to keep the legacy alive. In the latest news, you can win an 18k gold and diamond Fabergé egg pendant at the The Fabergé Egg Hunt contest, on till April 1. Key in #FabEggHunt2018 on the brand's social media platforms to locate pictures that flaunt alphabets that together form a code to enter the contest.