Plafonniers and station platforms

Christmas is almost upon us and you still haven’t sorted out that significant present for the woman in your life who has everything. And there’s the rub. She already has the jewels, the houses, the horses, the cars, the shoes and furs and more cashmere dressing gowns than she could possibly ever want. Knowing the way she’s capable of burning through your money, you’d like to give her something under the tree that will at least hold its value, and perhaps become a family heirloom. So does she have, I ask you, any Lalique plafonniers?

My first thought was that a plafonnier was something to do with platform shoes, although admittedly platform shoes made from antique French glass would be pretty outrageously special. Actually, a plafonnier is a chandelier, and if she likes gems and strong colours and Art Deco aesthetics, and if on top of all that you have fairly deep Christmas pockets, then you should consider popping over and placing a bid in the Lalique sale at Christie’s in New York on 18 December.