The egg opens to reveal a surprise miniature gold replica of the Gatchina Palace that was built for Count Grigory Orlov and was later acquired by Tsar Paul I.

The egg was created by Fabergé's workmaster, Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (Russian, 1860–1903), and is crafted from gold, enamel, silver-gilt, portrait diamonds, rock crystal, and seed pearls.

Detailed work around the palace in the surprise shows cannons, a flag, a statue of Paul I (1754-1801), and elements of the landscape.

[1] The egg opens to reveal a miniature gold replica of Gatchina Palace, the Dowager Empress's residence outside Saint Petersburg.

In 1920, the egg was in the possession of Alexander Polovtsov, who was a former employee at the Gatchina Palace and later started an antique shop in Paris.