The splurge gifts made to be handed down.

Juliska's Country Estate pattern is a hand-drawn scene of an English country estate, in blue on a cream stoneware ground. The 18.5 inch platter is the largest piece in the range, 13.5 inches across, and big enough for a turkey or a whole side of salmon. Each piece is made by hand in Portugal and individually signed.

It is a platter that becomes part of a family's holidays. It goes into an oven up to 500 degrees, the freezer, the microwave and the dishwasher, so it can warm through before the roast goes on and does not need to be kept for best. Juliska says its stoneware is lead-free.

Skip it for someone whose table is all modern white porcelain. The pattern is traditional and it is the center of attention.

Pendleton first wove the Chief Joseph pattern in the 1920s, and it has been one of the mill's most popular designs since. The blanket is 82 percent virgin wool and 18 percent cotton, woven as a jacquard so the pattern shows on both sides in reversed colors, then napped for a thick, soft hand and bound in felt. It is made in the USA from fabric woven in Pendleton's own mills.

The 64 by 80 inch size is Pendleton's twin, and it weighs about 5 pounds. On a larger bed it is laid across the foot; on a sofa or in a guest room it is a blanket anyone can use. Pendleton gives a portion of the proceeds from the Chief Joseph pattern to the Native American Rehabilitation Association.

It is dry clean only. Anyone who wants a blanket they can put in the washing machine should look elsewhere.

Laguiole is a village in the Aubrac region of France, and its knives, with the shepherd's cross set into the handle, are copied everywhere. Laguiole en Aubrac is one of the makers that still builds them in the region, and it says each knife is made by one artisan from start to finish. These have forged, full-tang blades of Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel, about 4.25 inches long, and olive wood handles.

Olive wood is dense and figured, so no two knives in the set look alike. They work as steak knives and as everyday table knives, and they are the kind of object that makes a plain dinner feel set.

They must be washed by hand. A household that runs everything through the dishwasher will ruin the handles within a year.

Mauviel has made copper cookware in Villedieu-les-Poêles, a Normandy town known for its copper, since 1830. The M'Heritage 250 B line is its heavy copper for home kitchens: 90 percent copper outside for fast, even heat, lined with 10 percent 18/10 stainless steel so it never needs retinning, with solid brass handles and a pouring rim.

A 2.7 quart saucepan is the most useful size: sauces, custards, rice, a pan of reduced stock. Copper responds to the burner almost instantly, so a sauce that is about to catch can be pulled back in a second. Mauviel notes that copper conducts so well that burners rarely need to go above 6 or 7 out of 10.

It needs an induction interface disc, sold separately, to work on induction. Copper also darkens with use, so the owner has to choose between polishing it and letting it take on a patina.

Riedel launched the Amadeo in 2006 for the company's 250th anniversary, naming it for Mozart and shaping it after a lyre. The Fatto a Mano version adds a black-white-black line, made by working rods of colored crystal into the molten glass before the piece is formed. Each one is mouth-blown by hand, so small variations are part of the object.

It is sized for one standard 750 milliliter bottle and stands about 13.8 inches tall. The wide, low curve gives young red wine a lot of surface to meet the air, and pouring from it is a small ceremony, which is rather the point.

Skip it for someone who drinks wine casually or has no room to leave it out. It must be washed by hand, and the curved form makes it harder to dry than a plain carafe.