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From WiseGeek:  Czar Alexander III and his wife Czarina Maria Fedorovna celebrated their twentieth anniversary on Easter in 1885. Easter is the most celebrated holiday for those of the Russian Orthodox faith, marking a time of hope and renewed life. So it was that on this very special occasion the Czar wanted a very special gift to present to his wife.

The Czar commissioned a young jeweler, Peter Carl Faberge, whose creations were favored by his wife, to make a truly special gift. On Easter morning, Faberge delivered an enameled egg with a golden yolk. Inside the yolk was a golden hen, and inside the hen, a miniature royal crown of diamonds and a ruby egg. Maria was completely taken with the gift, which led the Czar to engage Faberge's services every Easter thereafter. The Czar only insisted that each Faberge egg be unique, and contain a surprise befitting of an Empress.

Faberge came through, year after year, taking inspiration from the lives of the Czar and his wife. For example, the Danish Palaces egg of 1891 was covered in translucent pink enamel, encrusted with jewels and gold leaf. Inside was a series of 10 screens upon which were painted tiny portraits of palaces and houses in which Maria had lived as a Danish princess before marrying Alexander III.