Malibu Mansion More Than Diamond in Rough

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They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and I’d like you to meet my new BFF: Gregg Ruth, the Malibu-based diamond jewelry designer and manufacturer who, along with wife Audrey, has listed their oceanview estate at $16 million.

Ruth established his business more than 20 years ago and brings to market 750 new styles a year produced by his more than 600 bench jewelers. The company is known for fine craftsmanship and detail. I’m from the school that believes a diamond can’t ever really look bad. However, I also feel the same way about cold pizza, so perhaps I’m not the best judge.

His collection includes classic diamond and gemstone rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. He does limited edition and one-of-a-kind creations. Ruth learned the trade at his parents’ Pennsylvania jewelry store and opened his own retail store in Tennessee in 1977. He branched out into importing high-end gold jewelry from Italy in the early 1980s, and then moved to Malibu in 1987, segueing from importing gold jewelry to designing diamond pieces.

The home is as breathtaking as the little shiny stones that Ruth trades in.

Villa Cascata sits on more than 20 acres and has 180-degree unobstructed views of the Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island. The 14,000-square-foot house has seven bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms, a chef’s kitchen with hand-honed floors, a formal dining room with a hand-painted ceiling, a carved fireplace made from imported stones in the living room, and a large family room that opens to a pool and outside entertainment area that is larger than most tract homes. The property also includes a detached guesthouse, a sports court, lush formal gardens and a horse facility with dressage arena. Am I gushing? It’s a gushable house.

Michael Gardner of Prudential California Realty, Malibu, and David Findley of Partners Trust share the listing.

Ford Listing

Peter Ford, son of movie legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, shunned the cinematic spotlight and became a builder. Peter Ford is now selling the house that was his dad’s longtime residence until his death in 2006. Ford and his wife had moved into the home to care for the actor who once was the No. 1 box office leading man. The 8,500- square-foot Beverly Hills home is listed at $8 million.

Ford and his wife flipped seven homes before he “turned pro.” His first major homebuilding commission was for Walter Coblenz, producer of “All the President’s Men” and “The Onion Field.” From that, his Blackoak Development Co. was born. Photos of Ford’s work have been published in leading architectural magazines. He was the builder of the famed Schnabel House, designed by architect Frank Gehry, which is regularly voted among the top 10 contemporary homes in America. He has also built homes for health guru Richard Simmons; Guess jeans co-owner Paul Marciano; and film producer Steve Tisch, whose credits include “Risky Business.”

The two-story midcentury that Ford is selling has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. There is a guesthouse and pool. The MLS suggests that the house is suitable for tear-down or a major remodel.

Jeffrey Hyland of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, is the listing agent.

‘Trophy Modern’

Developer-builder-architect Yechiel “Eli” Yogev – and owner-co-founder of Maya Steel Fabrications – is selling a 9,000-square-foot Trophy Modern home. What? Trophy Modern isn’t a recognized style? Well, it should be, and this place should be the poster child for it.

Listed at $12.5 million, the Beverly Hills home has a rooftop pool and deck, and jaw-dropping finishes throughout. The home’s expansive scale includes lots of open spaces and luxury amenities: an elevator; wine cellar with glass floor; towering ceilings; and a fortresslike construction with cement, scores of caissons, retaining walls and massive 20-foot glass walls. I’m sticking with an engineering tour de force here. A must-see, as the ad says.

Ben Bacal of HomeologyLA, Keller-Williams Hollywood Hills, and Aaron Kirman of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, share the listing.

Big Drop

No one, not even the big guys, have been immune to the Great Real Estate Tumble. Mike Ovitz, former Hollywood power player – one of those guys who screamed “jump” and others asked from which bridge – just lowered the price of his Brentwood home $6 million from the 2008 listing price of $14.5 million to where it now sits at $8.5 million.

Nothing wrong with the house, but like most things in life and comedy, it’s all about the timing. Ovitz and the missus have built a modern mansion in the Benedict Canyon area of Beverly Hills. Their old place, which perhaps they were not sufficiently eager to sell until now, has seven bedrooms, seven full and two half-bathrooms, and is about 8,339 square feet. Large enough to stretch your legs out in and trip up a few careers.

Ovitz’s climb up the success ladder began when he was a talent agent at William Morris Agency. He left William Morris in 1975 to co-found Creative Artists Agency, which he headed for 20 years until the Walt Disney Co. came calling. He apparently didn’t wear the mouse ears well, however, and his severance package – you know, where they pay you to please just go away – was reported to be in excess of $100 million.

Ovitz has since dabbled in a business or two, but now describes himself as a private citizen who advises some personal clients.

David Mossler of Teles Properties Inc. is the listing agent, according to the MLS.

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