Two of the most prestigious brands in the luxury industry have joined forces to open a flagship boutique featuring the creations of both companies. Lalique, which is known for its fine crystal, jewelry and perfume, and Haviland, one of the most prestigious manufacturers of Limoges porcelain, will open a 950 square foot boutique on Madison Avenue in New York on November 5th.

"The new boutique represents the convergence of the rich legacies and creative visions of Lalique and Haviland," says Maz Zouhairi, President and chief executive officer of Lalique and Haviland, North America.

The Lalique and Haviland flagship boutique will showcase Lalique crystal and Haviland porcelain side-by-side, as well as introduce the new Lalique by Haviland porcelain collection, which will be exclusive to the boutique. The collection will encompasses three designs; the Hirondelles and the Perles designs are both offered in full table settings with coordinating coffee and tea service sets. A third design, based on the iconic Rene Lalique Masque de Femme, includes a tray and a charger as accent pieces.

The boutique will also feature displays of the porcelain collections complemented by Lalique tabletop items (inspired by original Rene Lalique designs) as well as the new Coutard and Hirondelles stemware collections, Masque de Femme candle votives, Champs-Elysees crystal plates and more.

There will be several new and classic Lalique products displayed at the store including jewelry, decorative pieces, architectural elements, and tabletop and boudoir items. A special emphasis will be placed on Lalique's architectural offerings, showcasing their ability to customize iconic items, including water fountains.

Other product highlights in the boutique include a Six-Tier Champs-Elysees Chandelier, a Seville Chandelier, Coutard and Laurel Panels, and a customized, large-scale rectangular version of the popular Cactus Table.

The boutique will offer signature Haviland porcelain collections including this season's art-deco inspired
Cible, the luxurious Ritz Imperial dinnerware set and the newest encrustation and relief introductions in a new sandy, beige color. These high-end selections embody the classic Haviland look, seamlessly fitting in with the boutique's assortment.

The relationship between Lalique and Haviland began over 90 years ago with the marriage of René
Lalique's daughter, Suzanne, to Paul Haviland, head of the famous Limoges porcelain line at the time.
Since June, Lalique and Haviland have been linked through a partnership of their U.S. operations, and well as through a mutual operational partnership with Daum, subsequently announced in August.

The Lalique and Haviland Flagship Boutique is located at 609 Madison Avenue at 58th Street. A new Lalique and Haviland showroom will open this December in Chicago.

The boutique will be Haviland's first retail store. Winner of the Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Best in Dishware in October, Haviland has been at the forefront of the porcelain world for over 150 years. It is known for its exceptional quality porcelain and high levels of creativity in design. All pieces are entirely hand-made. Lalique was a Readers' Choice Award finalist in the best glassware category.

French company Lalique has been nominated for a Luxist Award in the category of glassware. The name Lalique has become synonymous with exquisite naturalistic glass designs. Rene Lalique was a French glass designer who founded the firm which continues today. Lalique began work as a goldsmith but later moved into glassware. He designed jewelry for Cartier, Boucheron and others before founding his own firm in 1885.

Known as the sculptor of light, he became one of France's foremost Art Nouveau and Art Deco designers. One of his major clients was François Coty, who commissioned Lalique to design perfume bottles. The Bacchantes vase, designed by Lalique in 1927 remains one of the most popular designs.

Today vintage Lalique remains highly collectible, often attaining high prices at auction. Lalique paperweights, vases and objets d'art are prized gifts and hold places of honor in many homes. Lalique also creates quality glass for other luxury brands including creating decanters for the rarer expressions of The Macallan and perfume bottles for designers like Tom Ford.

In this case the answer to the question is an extremely rare single malt in a limited edition decanter: The Macallan 57 Lalique "Finest Cut". Containing an exceptionally rare 57 year old single malt whisky from the famed Speyside distillery founded in 1824, the Finest Cut crystal decanter is valued at $15,000 and will be available by special order beginning in October. The precious bottling comes on the heels of the recent record-breaking £11,750 ($19,000) sale of one of The Macallan's 50th anniversary bottles at an auction in Scotland that my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported on.

The Finest Cut is inspired by the fraction of the new make spirit which is filled into casks for maturation. At The Macallan, this fraction is a mere 16%; the best of the best, it's delivered at a very slow rate of distillation to maximize flavor and produce a distinctively rich, fruity, viscous character. Designed exclusively for The Macallan by the legendary French crystal house Lalique, The Finest Cut decanters are individually numbered and produced in a very limited quantity - only 72 of the 400 launched worldwide will be available in the U.S.

"In homage to the beauty of Lalique's Finest Cut decanter, we chose a particularly rare 57 years old Macallan single malt whisky," says David Cox, Director of Fine & Rare Whiskies for The Macallan. "It is the second oldest The Macallan whisky ever released, only surpassed in age by the legendary 1926, a 60 year old bottled in 1986." The 57 follows in the footsteps of its two predecessors in the Six Pillars series, a 50 year old Macallan celebrating the exceptional oak casks and a 55 year old inspired by the distillery's insistence on natural color, both coveted collector's items.



The 57 year old has been vatted together from six casks made from two different species of oak; the first, a 1950 American oak sherry butt, and the second, a vatting of Macallan from first fill Spanish oak sherry butts originally filled in 1949, 1951 and 1952. The result is a sumptuous single malt, showing off the classic dried fruits, spice and hints of peat redolent of The Macallan house style of the early 1950's. The age statement of 57 years old is determined by the youngest cask which was filled in 1952.

The decanter features the 'stilligoutte' of a perfume bottle, the long piece of pure crystal flowing down to a point from the base of the bottle stopper. A portion of the stopper has been left completely clear and not "satinee," running from the top down to the point. This clear portion represents the 16% "finest cut". Crafted at Lalique's crystal making facility in Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace, each piece was worked on by up to 15 craftsmen.

Collector, channeler and entrepreneur, JZ Knight has had an interesting life. Knight first came to national attention in the 1970s for channeling a being called Ramtha, a Lemurian warrior who lived around 35,000 years ago. But in addition to founding the the School of Enlightenment, writing books and spreading Ramtha's teachings, Knight is also an antiques collector and owner of JZ Rose, a home furnishings store in Washington state. Some of her collection will go onsale at Bonham & Butterfields in Los Angeles on September 27. The collection features eclectic and unique examples of period furniture, decorative arts, carpets and paintings from the 17th through 20th centuries. Highlights include a set of five Louis XV carved walnut fauteuils, stamped N. Heurtaut, 18th century (est. $18,000-25,000); a painted canvas eight panel floor screen (est. $8,000-12,000); a George III brass inlaid mahogany secretary, late 18th century (est. $6,000-8,000) and a superb Chinese mother of pearl inlaid rosewood center table, late 19th/early 20th century (est. $3,000-5,000). Knight also has an impressive collection of Lalique including the René Lalique frosted glass table clock shown above, estimated at $12,000-$18,000.

This fall is a great time to do some museum hopping if you have an interest in precious objects from all eras. There's the Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan exhibit which is headed to San Francisco, the Art Nouveau Jewelry exhibit at the MFA in Boston and now Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique at the Cleveland Museum of Art from October 19 – January 18.

This exhibit showcases jewelry pieces and luxury objects from the 1900 Exhibition Universelle at Paris's Grand Palais where Art Nouveau jewelry design reached its apex. The show is a comparative study of the work of three of the greatest designers of the 20th century Peter Carl Fabergé, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and René Lalique. It includes rare loans from public and private collections worldwide from lenders such as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Albert of Monaco, Joan Rivers, and Neil Lane and public collections from the Met to the Hermitage. The pieces in the gallery below are just a sample of some of the beautiful objects on loan. Shown above is Edward VII's Faberge enamel cigarette case which was loaned to the exhibit by Queen Elizabeth II.

Last year, Macallan debuted their 50 year single malt in a Lalique decanter, this year they have upped the ante with a 55-year-old single malt and a new decanter with a stopper shaped like the Lalique Tiara perfume's bottle stopper but colored a deep amber to match the precious stuff contained within. There will be 420 decanters and each sells for $12,000.

What's great about this Champ Elysees Bowl by Lalique is that it can really be made to fit almost any season. It may be a bright green perfect for spring and Easter but pair with golds and it's beautiful for a fall or Thanksgiving table, and with reds and whites it's suddenly all about Christmas. I can also see it fitting into a variety of decor styles from old fashioned to modern and contemporary. Hand made in France it features hand chiseled green-tipped crystal leaves and measures 7.5"x17.5"x10". $3995

Lalique's latest collection is, what else, hearts. Their St. Valentin collection features thick ribbons of glass twisted into heart shapes. The collection includes paperweights and necklaces in a variety of rich jewel tones. The look is much more fluid than previous Lalique heart collections.