Credit: Fabergé

Officers were called to a jewellery store in Auckland, New Zealand last Friday, where store staff accused the 32-year-old of swallowing the item, worth $33,585 NZD (around £14,500).

The “Fabergé x 007 Special Edition Octopussy Egg Surprise Locket” is crafted from 18-karat yellow gold, and is decorated with green guilloché enamel and set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires.

The collector’s item is inspired by the James Bond film Octopussy, which focuses on a mystery involving one of the original Fabergé eggs from tsarist Russia.

Police said yesterday that the man remains under constant monitoring “given the circumstances of what has occurred”, CNN reports.

However, they added: “At this stage the pendant has not been recovered.”

The man is due to appear in court on Monday 8 December.