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Gifts for the newlyweds

December 8, 2003

The Art Deco sterling silver tea set from Tiffany & Co. includes nephrite jade tops, cocobolo rosewood handles, and copper rivets and bezels.


Your choice of a gift for the bridal couple can be easy (registries), problematical (what you spend may be influenced by how well you know them, or if you’re related), or adventurous (you try to make an original, interesting selection). Here are some starter ideas:

- Something new at Tiffany & Co. looks time-tested. It’s the Arts and Crafts sterling silver collection, including a four-piece tea set, which will be at home with art nouveau, art deco, or similar furnishings. The teapot ($9,500), creamer ($5,800) and sugar ($5,800) all have nephrite jade finials; the pot and creamer have angular cocobolo rosewood teak handles. The tray ($3,200) is accented with copper rivets. If you prefer, there’s a coffee pot ($8,250). The opulence continues with other items in the line, such as a vase ($8,500), candlestick ($1,150), or bowl ($7,450).

- A handpainted faience Harvest Platter ($199) from the Cordon Bleu selection at Pierre Deux would be a good choice for the couple whose tastes run to traditional or antiques. This substantial dish (23 inches long) can be put into service to serve a holiday bird, then displayed on a wall with its pierced back at other times.

- Also appropriate for the newlywed antiquarians is the Corinne chiming wall clock ($435) from Howard Miller’s Camden Passage Collection. This 38-inch high quartz timepiece is handpainted with floral patterns, including gold detailing on a lightly distressed sage finish. Roman numerals are painted. The dual chime movement plays either Westminster or Ave Maria chimes, with volume control and an automatic nighttime chime shut-off option.

- The Empire Mirror ($455) by Carolina Mirror for Winterthur, based on an 1830 antique at the du Pont estate in Delaware, is a classic convex-curved circular looking glass that will grace the couple’s first and subsequent homes. It features neoclassical fluting and capitals, topped with a shell design and detailed with sculpted leaves and ferns.

- The Royal Albert Old Country Roses pattern is one of the bone china classics from Royal Doulton, and there are a number of decorative accessories to choose from, including a 17-inch long three-part serving dish with traditional trim pattern ($72), or the 9-inch long cheese tray with spreader with an allover rose pattern ($37.50).

- Christofle’s Heart to Heart picture frame ($175) is an appropriate spot for a photo of the newlyweds. Holding a 3 1/2-inch square picture, the frame is black-stained maple and silver, with engravable twining hearts.

- Young couples especially are receptive to modern oriental wares, such as the bamboo placemat set ($19) that includes chopsticks and holder; squared dish ($7.99) and iron teapot ($16.99), all at T.J. Maxx.


Associated Press