Christie's expects the Winter egg, one of just seven of Peter Carl Fabergé's creations still in private hands, to sell for more than £20 million when it lands on the auction block Tuesday.

The 10cm-tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4500 tiny diamonds. It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejeweled quartz flowers symbolising spring.

CNN quotes it as the "greatest of them all" despite its small size. The prices are being pushed up by their scarcity, with so few likely to be placed on the private market. 00:00/19:20 10

Of these, some are in "fairly sacrosanct" collections, according to Fabergé expert Kieran McCarthy, meaning only three remain in what he called "truly private" hands and could ever be r

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