Police in New Zealand are waiting for nature to take its course after a man allegedly tried to smuggle a 33,000 New Zealand dollar ($19,000) pendant out of a jewelry store by swallowing it.

The 32-year-old man, who has not been publicly named, is accused of eating an ornate Fabergé octopus pendant at Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on Nov. 28.

Evidence of the alleged theft has yet to emerge, police said Wednesday.

"At the time of his arrest he underwent a medical assessment, and an officer is assigned to constantly monitor the man," Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement. "At this stage the pendant has not been recovered."

Charging documents viewed by the Guardian newspaper confirm the man was charged on Nov. 29 for allegedly stealing the Fabergé x 007 Special Edition Octopussy Egg Surprise Locket, valued at $33,585.

The man was arrested inside the store minutes after the alleged theft. He appeared in the Auckland District Court the next day and did not enter a plea on a charge of theft.

The alleged loot was a limited-edition, Fabergé egg pendant inspired by the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Central to the film's plot is a jewel-smuggling operation that involves a fake Fabergé egg.

The store's website says the egg, only 50 of which have been made, is crafted from gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant is 8.4 centimeters (3.3 inches) tall and is mounted on a stand.

"The egg opens to reveal an 18ct yellow gold octopus nestled inside, adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes," an item description said. "The octopus surprise pays homage to the eponymous antagonist at the centre of the Octopussy film."

Time and digestion will tell if another octopus surprise is forthcoming.

"Given this man is in Police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred," Anderson said.

The accused man is due to appear in court again Dec. 8.

Crystal Fabergé egg sells for record $30.2 million

Meanwhile, in London, a rare crystal and diamond Fabergé egg crafted for Russia's ruling family before it was toppled by revolution shattered records Tuesday as it sold at auction for 22.9 million pounds ($30.2 million).

The Winter Egg, which was compared to the iconic Mona Lisa, was just one of seven of the opulent ovoids remaining in private hands, Christie's London auction house said.

The 4-inch (10-centimeter) tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4,500 tiny diamonds. It opens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejeweled quartz flowers symbolizing spring.

The sale price, which included a buyer's premium, topped the $18.5 million paid at a 2007 Christie's auction for another Fabergé egg created for the Rothschild banking family.

Craftsman Peter Carl Fabergé and his company created more than 50 of the eggs for Russia's imperial family between 1885 and 1917, each elaborately unique and containing a hidden surprise. Czar Alexander III started the tradition by presenting an egg to his wife each Easter. His successor, Nicholas II, extended the gift to his wife and mother.

Czar Nicholas II commissioned the egg for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, as an Easter present in 1913. It was one of two eggs created by female designer Alma Pihl; her other egg is owned by Britain's royal family.

The Romanov royal family ruled Russia for 300 years before the 1917 revolution ousted it. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918.

Bought by a London dealer for 450 pounds when the cash-strapped Communist authorities sold off some of Russia's artistic treasures in the 1920s, the egg changed hands several times. It was believed lost for two decades until it was auctioned by Christie's in 1994 for more than 7 million Swiss francs ($5.6 million at the time). It sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million.

Each time the egg has sold, it has set a world record price for a Fabergé item, Christie's said.

Margo Oganesian, the head of Christie's Russian art department, called the egg "the 'Mona Lisa' for decorative arts," a superb example of craft and design.

"Today's result sets a new world auction record for a work by Faberge, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece," Oganesian said in a statement.

She added the sale celebrated "the rarity and brilliance of what is widely regarded as one of Faberge's finest creations, both technically and artistically."

Faberge, the master jeweler whose creations bedazzled Russia, created 50 Imperial Easter Eggs for the then-ruling Romanov family over a 31-year period, making them incredibly rare and valuable, Oganesian told AFP ahead of the auction.

There are 43 surviving imperial Fabergé eggs, most in museums.