MariskaHargitay

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Tiffany & Co.'s new custom-design service is the answer for anyone in search of unique, one-of-a-kind table settings.

Master artisans at the company-owned Le Tallec Studio in Paris, the world-renowned studio for hand-painted porcelain, create unique pieces that are custom-ordered and designed to meet the specifications of the Tiffany customer. From the creation of the initial pattern to the finished plate, the process details the custom design service Tiffany & Co. offers clients who wish to create their own Le Tallec pattern.

"We had so many requests for custom design jewelry work, that it only seemed natural to offer custom dishware, too," says Allen Nissim, a Tiffany & Co. group director who oversees the custom Le Tallec business. "This is really 21st century luxury."

Custom designs have ranged from those that incorporated a family crest to a favorite animal, flower or even the home decor of a customer. The Tiffany design department presents several different options to the customer and tweaks from there before a pattern is finalized. Each piece is initialed by the painter, dated and marked "Tiffany & Co., hand painted, Made in France." The artists can also include an inscription that says "This piece was made specially for..." and include the customer's name. Customers can initiate the custom design process at any Tiffany & Co. store location. The pattern seen above was created by designer Celerie Kemble who worked closely with actress Mariska Hargitay. It was based on Le Tallec's Cirque Chinois collection.

The labor intensive, entirely hand-created process is much like the manufacturing and decorating techniques used during the 18th and 19th centuries. The design process is labor-intensive even for designs that are as seemingly simple as green stripes. "It is labor-intensive to get the colors consistent around the border," says Nissim. "It takes a lot of skill to get the shades just right."

The initial creative process in developing a pattern can take as long as three months, depending on what the client is looking for and the scope of the order. The design may be somewhat different for a dinner plate or a bowl than it is for a tray. "Different pieces may have different interpretations of the same pattern," says Nissim.

One order for a set of 400 pieces required nearly six months just to develop the pattern and another year to create the pieces. Prices vary depending on the piece and design. A dinner plate starts at $1,200, but can cost more depending on the design. "People are comfortable with the cost when the finished product reflects their interest and taste," says Nissim

Smaller orders are also acceptable. A recent request was placed by a soon-to-be married couple who wanted custom-designed trays to present as a gift to members of their bridal party with each piece personally inscribed.

"These pieces become a legacy for generations to come," Nissim adds.

From Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--Retired major league baseball player Lenny Dykstra has placed his eight-bedroom mansion in the Lake Sherwood area of Thousand Oaks, Calif. on the market for $24.95 million. Dykstra bought the home less than a year ago from Wayne Gretsky for $18.5 million.
--One of my all-time favorite estate of the day properties, makeup artist Stan Winston's Malibu pad, has sold for an undisclosed price (it was listed at $11.95 million). It may have been bought by a CBS head honcho Les Moonves or a member of his family.
--Chad Sexton, the drummer for the band 311, has sold his Hollywood Hills home for $1.7 million.
--Actor Matthew Rhys has paid $1,262,500 for a house in Los Angeles, near the Melrose Shopping District.
--Actor Shawn Hatosy has sold his Hollywood Hills home for $1.485 million.
--The star of "Rob and Big" reality TV star Rob Dyrdek has bought a house in the Hollywood Hills for $2.459 million.

From the Real Estalker:
--via the San Diego Tribune, Mitt and Ann Romney have picked up a place in La Jolla, California for $12 million.
--Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance have lowered the price on their Hancock Park home again, it started at almost $6 million but can now be picked up for $3.9 million. The listing is here.
--The parents of Lauren Conrad of The Hills have put their Laguna Beach home on the market for $17.9 million. The listing is here.
--Tea Leoni and David Duchovy have put their Malibu home on the market for $12 million. The listing for the five-bedroom home is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Target fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli and his wife, actress Lori Laughlin, have put their Laguna Beach home on the market for $12.995 million. It's our estate of the day later today.
A home in Rancho Santa Fe home once owned by former Blink-182 lead guitarist and perennial houseflipper Tom DeLonge is on the market for $5.6 million. The listing is here.
--"Eli Stone" producer Greg Berlanti has listed this Palm Springs second home for $1.949 million. It's a charming three-bedroom getaway with a swim-up pool. The listing is here.
--Actor Nick Zano has listed his West Hollywood home for $1.050 million. The property website is here.
-- L.A. Lakers' assistant coach Jim Cleamons has listed his Manhattan Beach home for sale at $1.399 million.
--Ryan Phillippe, recently bought a home in the Hollywood Hills for $7.175 million.
--Joely Fisher has relisted her Encino home for $3.295 million. It was listed at $4.75 million when it was our estate of the day last June.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--The Colorado home of the late singer Dan Fogelberg, Mountain Bird Ranch, has gone to contract. The most recent asking price was $15 million but it was listed for $17.5 million when we first checked it out in 2005.
--The former Hamptons home of "From Here to Eternity" author James Jones is being renovated and a developer plans to put it up for sale for $12 million to $14 million. It is listed as a "modern green home" and has solar panels and a geothermal heating system. The listing is here.
--Casa de la Paz, the La Jolla beachfront estate owned for four decades by actor Cliff Robertson has sold for $16.5 million. It was first listed for $28 million but was down to $22.5 million in September 2007 when we checked it out as an estate of the day. It is next door to the new home that Mitt Romney bought and the buyers of the Robertson home are John and Victoria Miller, the former national-finance heads of Mr. Romney's presidential campaign.

From the NY Times Big Deal:
--Mariska Hargitay and her husband Peter Hermann have put their Chelsea penthouse on the market for $8.25 million. The 4,900 square foot penthouse has more than 2,500 square feet of outdoor space and is built around a 16 ½-foot gold dome atop the O'Neill Building at 655 Avenue of the Americas. The listing is here.
--A New York apartment once owned by Britney Spears is back on the market. It was our estate of the day on Saturday.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Heidi Klum has sold her West Village penthouse for $5.35 million.
--Warner Music Group chairman Lyor Cohen is spending $6.8 million for a teardown in the Hamptons, which was listed at $5.5 million. Cohen has taken his Bridgehampton estate, wich was listed at $9.5 million, back off the market.
--Nora Ephron and Nick Pileggi paid $2.74 million for a second-floor flat with three bedrooms and 2½ baths at 136 E. 79th St.
--The Park Avenue apartments of former Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal and his late next-door neighbor,fashionista Diana Vreeland which were listed at $24 million are being purchased by Phyllis Mack, the wife of real-estate mogul William Mack.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Paul Risoli, the former Bank of America broker sentenced to seven months in prison this February for taking $12,500 in bribes, just sold his apartment to New York University's School of Law for $2.745 million.
--Sherman Cohen who bought the red-brick mansion at 603 Park Avenue nearly 20 years ago has reportedly never spent a night there. It's been on and off the market for years and is now listed at $35 million. It was our estate of the day on Friday.
--Goldman Sachs' senior strategist Abby Joseph Cohen has picked up an apartment at the Majestic on Central Park West sold by Michelle Grabanski and Bill Pohlad, the son of a Minnesota billionaire and a producer of Brokeback Mountain, for $7.5 million.