The largest French treasure hunt takes service. While the first “golden owl”, buried in 1993 by Max Valentin, was won at the end of 2024 by two people who wished to remain anonymous, Michel Becker, the painter and co -author of the Book of the enigmas, launches a new quest. With the key to the key: a nice silver and vermeil owl, made by the Christofle goldsmithery house, estimated between 200,000 and 300,000 euros.
With its full -size size and retractable wings, the new golden owl can move in its setting. This “treasure”, meticulously made at the moment within the 12,000 m2 site of Yainville (Normandy), is inspired by “works by Leonard de Vinci and his flying machines”.
It will mainly be made up of solid silver and vermeil, its base will be made of stones, its eyes in fine stones and a terrestrial globe, “most certainly in crystal” will be housed in a transparent belly. For the prototypiste (and best worker in France) Olivier André, who has been working with Christofle for over twenty years, this is a “difficult” challenge but “a beautiful challenge that will give one of the most beautiful objects” made in their workshop.
-This Friday, May 2, thousands of “owners” will first discover the hiding place of the first treasure and the response to the puzzles that punctuated three decades of their lives during a documentary broadcast in 400 rooms in France. At the end of this film, the spectators will discover the first enigma – out of the twelve planned – of treasure hunt n ° 2. And some will even take place abroad.
“The owl takes on an international dimension,” says Michel Becker. We have seen that many owners came from the United States, the United Kingdom, Africa and New Zealand. It motivated us to make her travel. »»
If the first treasure hunt ended after 31 years and 5 months (and sixteen years after the death of its creator Max Valentin), Michel Becker assures that it should last “between three and six years”.
