The Fabergé egg locket was an extravagant homage to “Octopussy,” the 1983 James Bond movie about murder and jewelry smuggling that includes a scene in which Bond deftly swaps a real Fabergé egg for a fake one at an auction.
Crafted in 18-karat gold and decorated with green guilloche enamel set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires, the egg opened to reveal a miniature gold octopus with two black diamonds for eyes.
Last week, a man walked into a jewelry store in Auckland, New Zealand, picked up the egg and then swallowed it, the police said. When officers arrived, he was arrested and charged with theft.
After the man underwent a medical assessment, the only thing the police had to do was wait. They assigned an officer to monitor him around the clock until, finally, six days later, the jewel-encrusted egg, which appeared to be roughly the size of a large grape, was recovered on Thursday night.
“No medical intervention was required, and the pendant passed naturally,” the police said in a statement. The police did not release the name of the man, who was 32, but said he was expected to appear in court on Monday.
The police said that the egg remained in their custody, and they released a photo of it resting on paper towels and held by a hand in a blue glove. The egg still had its yellow gold chain attached, as well as the original price tag, revealing that it had been selling for 33,585 New Zealand dollars, or about $19,400.
Michael Levenson covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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