In 'Kutchinsky's Egg,' a jeweler’s corrosive ambition leads to his family’s downfall

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2026

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

A famous jeweler in London once became obsessed with a single goal: To produce the world’s largest golden egg. He became fixated with one-upping the famous Fabergé eggs, ultimately producing his own jeweled egg once priced at £7 million. His daughter, Serena Kutchinsky, has a new memoir about the way her father’s “corrosive ambition” led to the demise of the family’s century-old business. In today’s episode, she talks with NPR’s Don Gonyea about Kutchinsky’s Egg, an unusual first-class flight, and the rise and fall of this one-of-a-kind object.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Timber-Irmus, and you're listening to NPR's Book of the Day.
0:06.8	Today, how a bejeweled egg led to the downfall of a successful family business.
0:11.6	In the 1980s, Paul Kaczynski led his family's famed jewelry business,
0:16.4	and during that time, he became obsessed with making the world's largest jeweled egg, which he did, but it came at great expense to him and his family.
0:27.0	The story of how it all came together and then unraveled is the subject of a new book, Kaczynski's Egg, a family story of love, loss, and obsession.
0:35.9	It's by Serena Kaczynski, Paul's daughter, and she spoke about it
0:39.4	with Weekend Edition guest host, Don Gagne.
0:42.9	A famous jeweler in London had a wild dream to create the world's largest jeweled egg.
0:50.7	Paul Kachinsky was already rich and successful when he became obsessed with one upping the legendary
0:58.1	Faberger eggs. He showed it off on a BBC talk show in 1990. The world's biggest golden egg.
1:06.0	Paul brags that British craftsmanship can now compete on the world stage.
1:11.7	There are great craftsmen here, and what we're trying to do here is to show, but they're still alive and kicking.
1:18.1	The show host, Terry Wogan, is dazzled by the egg, along with the entire audience.
1:23.9	Don't sell it in all that much of a hurry, because it really is a beautiful piece of work.
1:27.4	Thank you, Paul. Paul Kachinsky. Paul Kachinsky's Don't sell it in all that much of a hurry because it really is a beautiful piece of work.
1:29.1	Thank you, Paul. Paul Kaczynski.
1:36.2	Paul Kaczynski's daughter, Serena Kaczynski, witnessed all of this as a child.
1:44.1	She has written a memoir about how this fabulous golden egg brought about her family's downfall.
1:45.9	She joins us from London.
1:47.7	Serena, thank you for being here.
1:48.8	Hi, Dawn.
1:49.8	Great to be here.
	...

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