That's really fascinating. I didn't know anything at all about Faberge eggs before this, other than that they were (a) rare and (b) beautiful. I guess the part about them being rare isn't quite on target.

If Martin had been able to buy the factory, imagine what he could have carried off. It would make for a great trashy romance novel, starring a young female jewelry maker who threatens to expose the new factory manager as a fraud.

Not much of a virtue if it can only hold up absent the presence of vice. Reminds me of Mae West: "I can resist anything except temptation."