A rare crystal Fabergé egg decorated with 4,500 diamonds sold for a record £22.9 million ($30.2 million) at a London auction, Christie's announced. Known as the Winter Egg, it was once owned by Russia’s imperial family. The egg was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913 as a gift for his mother. The previous record for a Fabergé egg was £8.9 million in 2007. Christie's spokesperson Margo Oganesian said, "Today's result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece." The 8.2 cm tall egg was created by Carl Fabergé, based on the design by Alma Theresia Pihl, one of the company's two female workmasters. It is carved from rock crystal and decorated with rose-cut diamonds and platinum snowflakes. Inside, it opens to reveal a tiny basket of white quartz flowers. The Fabergé house made only 50 eggs for the Russian imperial Romanov family between 1885 and 1917. The Imperial Winter Egg is one of just seven left in private hands; the rest are missing or held by museums and institutions.