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The Beauty of Chandelier Lighting
There’s something special about the flawless brilliance of quality chandelier lighting. No other form of lighting has the power to transform your home or entertaining space into a glamourous setting that radiates beauty and sophistication.
Discover your chandelier style and choose from our exquisite range of Italian handcrafted designs:
- Grand wrought iron chandeliers
- Elegant gold, brass and bronze chandeliers
- Contemporary chandeliers
- Modern chrome chandelier
- Delicate cream and gold chandeliers
Reflections on the Chandeliers past
‘Chandelier’ derives from ‘chandelle’, the French word for candle, and simply means ‘candleholder’. The term ‘chandelier lighting’ can be applied to any light fixture suspended from the ceiling, usually with branch supports and two or more candles or electric lights.
The first chandeliers were little more than a crossed couple of beams of wood with a spike at each end for a candle. Very few early examples survived but they would have been found chiefly in medieval churches and abbeys across Europe. Depictions of these organic brass shapes can be found in Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, hanging in the homes of the prosperous merchant classes. Modest households may also have made their own chandeliers from turned wood, bent metal, wrought iron or even tin sheet.
The science of Chandelier swing
Owning a chandelier means being part of a rich and varied history, not only in terms of design but also, perhaps surprisingly, the pursuit of scientific discovery. Legend has it that Galileo Galilei was watching a chandelier swinging in Pisa Cathedral, when he noticed that the swing time remained constant even though each swing was shorter than the previous one. It was this that prompted him to start experimenting with pendulums, which subsequently led to Galileo's discovery of the ‘law of the pendulum’, and later on, the invention of the astronomical and navigational clock.
In pursuit of lighting perfection
It was much later, when designs started to incorporate mirrors, shining brass plates and light-diffusing quartz crystals in an attempt to maximise the weak light, that they began to resemble the sparkling creations we’ve come to know and love. But the materials weren’t easy to work with. Rock crystal was rare, brittle and very expensive. Pressed glass pieces were dull by comparison, and equally brittle and difficult to cut and shape.
In 1676, English glassmaker, George Ravenscroft, developed a crystalline glass resembling rock crystal which was easier to cut and even more refractive than rock crystal. Then, in the late 1800’s, Daniel Swarovski of Austria began stone cutting and crystal manufacture. Patenting a machine that cut jewellery stones to perfection, he expanded the use of this technology to include cutting crystal chandelier lighting pieces, perfecting the purity of leaded glass crystal to a state of flawless brilliance.
Eventually, with the advent of paraffin and electric lamps, chandelier lighting became less functional and was instead propelled into the realm of pure, unadulterated decoration.
Exquisite chandelier design
Over the course of its life, chandelier lighting has evolved through a range of exaggerated, fanciful forms; from medieval designs to opulent contemporary interpretations. Popular well into the early 20th century, the new decorative styles, such as arts and crafts, art nouveau and art deco, finally started to favour other forms of lighting. It wasn’t until after the Second World War that the drive for fresh interior design forms and decoration revived the popularity of chandelier lighting, mainly through the work of Italian designers, Gino Sarfatti and Achille Castiglioni, and the German, Ingo Maurer.
And now they’re back. Whether your taste is for big and glitzy or sparkly and romantic, there is a chandelier to suit you and your space. Practical as well as exquisite, chandelier lighting is easier to install than you might think and only the larger varieties will demand a reinforced ceiling. In fact, once you get started, you may find you’re only problem lies in restricting yourself to just one.