The egg is carved from a solid piece of heliotrope jasper, also known as bloodstone, flecked with red and blue. It is decorated in the Louis XV style with a superimposed gold pattern of rococo scrolls ornated with brilliant diamonds and chased gold flowers. The clasp consists of a ruby and two diamonds. The interior of the egg is lined with green velvet.
This Egg commemorates the voyage by the Tsarevich Nicholas and Grand Duke George to the Far East in 1890, made at the suggestion of their parents to broaden the outlook of the future Tsar and his younger brother. The voyage was a disaster because suffering from Tuberculoses George's condition worsened and Nicholas was attacked by a would-be assassin in a Japanese town and sustained a serious head wound. The Egg was presented to the Tsarina before these events occurred, and it never was one of her favorite Eggs.
The Memory of Azov Egg never left Russia and is one of the ten Imperial Eggs in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow.
The egg contains an exact replica of the cruiser Memory of Azov (Pamiat Azova), executed in gold and platinum, with windows set with small diamonds, and rests on a piece of aquamarine, representing water.
The name "Azov" appears on the stern of the ship. The plate has a golden frame with a loop enabling the model to be removed from the egg.
