animal skins

NY Billionaire's Yacht Seized Over Endangered Animals

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

A $26 million yacht with Versace interiors owned by cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir - who lives in Manhattan's famed Duke-Semans mansion (above) - was seized by customs officials in Miami this week over trophies made from the skins of endangered animals. The yacht, named the Mystère, was found to contain zebra skins, a jaguar skin rug, Bengal tiger and African lion heads, cigar boxes covered in elephant hide, a reticulated python cigarette holder, and large carved ivory tusks, the Miami Herald reports.

Sapir, an emigré from Russia whose $1.4 billion fortune is now mainly invested in real estate, will get the yacht back minus the gruesome décor after paying a $150,000 fine. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through, and is now said to be spending $10 million on renovations including - get this - a gallery for his world-class collection of ivory. He is ranked at No. 522 on Forbes' Richest Americans list.

Tags: animal skins, AnimalSkins, billionaires, Doris Duke, DorisDuke, Duke-Semans mansion, Duke-semansMansion, endangered species, EndangeredSpecies, Forbes, Miami, Tamir Sapir, TamirSapir, yacht

Men's Exotic Skin Items, From Luxury Accessories Intl.

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Men's Style

New York City-based Luxury Accessories International (LAI) began as a leather importer in New York in 1953, importing crocodile skins from South America and selling them to makers of shoes, handbags, and other leather goods. In 1971 the company expanded the range of skins to include python from Indonesia, ostrich from South Africa, and lizard from South America. Today, the company makes a variety of high-end products for men and women, but I'm going to focus on the men. Where to begin? Belts, bags, a flask, a watch box, portfolios, wallets ... all custom dyed all over the world and made with skins selected by hand for cutting at the LAI manufacturing house in Long Island City, N.Y. Orders are individually cut and sewn, and often customized, but the LAI boutique at 35 E. 65th St., NYC, offers custom pieces.

You know something's expensive when every piece on the Web site is followed by: "To purchase, please contact the LAI Boutique: 212-794-3874." So I can't help you with pricing, but if you see something you like, give LAI a ring. See the gallery for a few of the beautiful pieces.

Gallery: Luxury Accessories for Men