Each of the eleven Tea & Coffee Piazza tea and coffee services is entirely hand-made from 925/1000 silver in a series of 99 examples, together with three craftsman proofs in brass or silvered copper. Each example is stamped with the legal identification mark and hallmark as well as the Officina Alessi stamp, the artists monogram, the year of production and the progressive serial number. The three craftsman proofs are stamped P. A. Terribly expensive and thus virtually restricted to museums and extremely wealthy collectors, the Tea & Coffee Piazza services have nonetheless proved to be one of Alessis shrewdest strategic moves. While taking Italian design in new directions and introducing new talents to the international design scene, as far as Alessi is concerned they have, in fact, introduced great designers who had yet to tackle product design and who in the future were to help consolidate our design excellence and create many of our best designs of the Eighties and Nineties.