Far-Out Gift Idea? How About Some $2,000 Bacon on the Hoof

Forget the partridge.

How about a pig in your pear tree? “They’re friendly and loving,” says Matthew Thorpe, a salesclerk at Russo’s pet store in Newport Center Fashion Island.

And they’re the hottest gift idea happening for people who have everything. Pigs on a leash have been sighted prancing along the streets of Balboa Island.

But these are no ordinary pigs. These are rare, Vietnamese potbellied pigs, selling at Russo’s for a hog-wild $2,000. “They’re not for a conservative person, or someone who doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Russo says. “But no fleas! No barking! And no biting--they just take your fingers and roll them around in their mouths.”

Now, if a sow whose ears sell for as much as a silk purse aren’t your style of holiday giving, consider these sizzlers:

You can hire a private jet from Martin Aviation at John Wayne Airport and soar to San Francisco aboard a $13-million Gulfstream for $4,100 per hour; a $15-million Challenger for $3,400 per hour, or a $2.5-million Lear for $1,300 per hour. “Folks hire jets for gift-giving all of the time,” says Boyd Parker, marketing director for Martin Aviation. “Mom surprises dad. Dad surprises mom. They hop up to San Francisco for dinner or Las Vegas for a show.”

The top-of-the line Gulfstream seats 12 and can be flown anywhere in the world. “It’s a stand-up aircraft, a luxury liner,” Parker says. “And it comes with a captain, a first officer and steward.”

For a mere $100, you can give the gift that returns the favor at the Irvine Hilton and Towers. The recipient of your “Chef for the Day” treat can cook your dinner in the hotel kitchen and then enjoy the meal with you.

Here’s the way it works: The would-be chef is given a hotel room in which to change into chef’s garb. After lunch, which can be enjoyed in the room or the employee cafeteria, the “chef” meets with the chef to plan the meal they will prepare. Later, you reap the reward when the creation is served up at Morell’s, the hotel’s gourmet restaurant. (Another hot tip: Tired of being trampled at black-tie galas held in the Hilton ballroom? You can rent the ballroom and toss your own blast for $8,000.)

Flora Danica, considered the most costly dinner service in the world, can be found at the new Georg Jensen store at South Coast Plaza. Service for eight is a breathtaking $20,000 (one service has already been sold). The first Flora Danica service, hand-molded and hand-painted for King Christian VII of Denmark to give to Russian Empress Catherine II in 1790, took 12 years to complete (tidbit: the Empress died before it was finished, so the pricey plates became the Royal Danish dinner service).

Who buys such rare stuff? “Kings and queens and the very affluent,” says store manager Diana Armenise. “Queen Elizabeth has it.” Some buyers of Flora Danica begin with only two place settings, Armenise says. “Or they buy the Flora Danica ice dish for $8,000. Or the soup tureen and plate for $6,000.”

How do they wash it? Very carefully.

Tiffany & Co. at South Coast Plaza has a $100,000 butterfly-- the symbol for social types-- necklace available for holiday giving. The newly designed piece, part of its Butterfly Collection, is made of 18-karat gold mesh and topped with a diamond butterfly. Another stunner, available in the store next week, is Tiffany’s new “cloud necklace” selling for $120,000, store vice president Jo Qualls says. The piece, which took over a year to execute, features 542 diamonds.

People who purchase such rare items are usually collectors, Qualls says.

“They collect art and jewelry, and they have the time it takes to put together such collections. The person who buys such a necklace is not someone who would have just that one piece. They are the type who, every three or four years, makes a substantial purchase. They understand what it takes to get those stones out of the earth and into a piece of jewelry.

“It’s a life style. They travel globally and appreciate having little notoriety. And usually the purchase is made with a significant emotional attachment.”

Tiffany also will design a piece of jewelry with the personality of the wearer in mind. “The majority of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels were created that way,” Qualls says. “She had a real appreciation for fine pieces.” Minimum for a custom piece? “Usually in the $20,000 range,” Quall says.

Lillian Fluor of Corona del Mar can be seen on the pages of “Chic Savages,” the hot-seller written by the high priest of nouvelle society, Women’s Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild. For $19.95, you can give a gift that will take a reader on a 215-page journey into the world of high society and high fashion (Fluor is featured in a picture with Nancy Reagan’s favorite designer, James Galanos). Chapters have titillating titles such as: “Playing Savage Games,” “Land of the Rising Society” and “Wobbly Wasps.”

Another hot-seller at $19.95 is Steve Ginsberg’s “Reeking Havoc,” the saga of Giorgio perfume creators Fred and Gale Hayman (Ginsberg is West Coast bureau chief of Women’s Wear Daily). In the book, which he calls “a primer for entrepreneurial couples,” Ginsberg weaves the tale of a marriage that hit the rocks after Giorgio sales skyrocketed.

“At first, the partnership worked,” Ginsberg says, “because the junior partner (Gale) was absorbing and learning. But at some point, the junior partner has to become an equal. If that doesn’t happen, the relationship is usually doomed. The junior partner wants to grow with the business. And if the senior partner isn’t willing to give up some things, there’s going to be a clash!”

Finally, gift ideas from Neiman Marcus, the store that put the exclusive catalogue on the map. Available at the Newport Center Fashion Island store: A $16,500 brocade evening jacket with ostrich feather cuffs by designer Gianfranco Ferre . . . a rhinestone-studded minaudiere evening bag by Judith Leiber for $1,725 . . . a white chinchilla cape for $49,500 . . . a sterling silver dog (or pig, if you prefer) collar for $850.