PLATTSBURGH, NY - Schonbek startled the lighting industry last year with Geometrix®, a radical new collection of high tech lighting featuring STRASS® Swarovski® Crystal.

Now the collection has become an expanding universe.

Schonbek has added cylinders and spheres to a portfolio of cubes, squares, oblongs and pyramids. These geometric bodies of fiery crystal are called Matrix, Vertex®, Edges®, Helix, Geode™ and Slices™.

Most radical of all are new crystal-encrusted Geometrix® spotlights for track lighting and new crystal trim for recessed lights.

"With these designs," said President & CEO Andrew Schonbek, "we've dissolved the boundary line between decorative and functional lighting."

JEWLERY FOR RECESSED LIGHTS

"As a rule," said Schonbek, "recessed lights try to be invisible. We had the idea of flaunting one's recessed lighting, instead of hoping no one would notice it. So we made these dazzling little collars of crystal that fit right onto recessed lights."

There are three new Geometrix® recessed lighting designs, all composed of STRASS® Swarovski® Crystal.

Slices™ has the quality of a diamond choker, rich and tight to the light. Vertex® presents its crystal in a technical-looking grid projecting from the light source. With Edges® you have the merest sliver of crystal floating under the recessed light.

TRACK LIGHTING TRANSFORMED

Vertex® spotlights are a total rebellion from the sterile look of standard spotlights.

Small but dazzling, Vertex® spotlights juxtapose technical looking polished chrome and the world's most refractive crystal.

Like conventional spotlights, they might be used to illuminate art objects, work surfaces or the dining room table, but they themselves are as eye-catching as the objects they light.

Fanciful new close-to-rail Geometrix® designs Schonbek has further expanded the possibilities of conventional track lighting by making Edges®, Vertex®, Matrix and Geode™ in close-to-rail versions.

A designer can go wild with track, using close-to-rail crystal cubes, spheres, rectangles and spotlights to create a unique galaxy of color and light. Dozens of shimmering crystal colors Geometrix® collection includes a staggering 35 crystal color options. Many are composites unique to Schonbek. Pure white halogen or xenon light ignites the crystal to create otherworldly auras. To look at a Geometrix® design is to feel that the spectrum has been reinvented.

SEVERAL COLORS ARE NEW THIS YEAR

"For example," said Schonbek, "we've rendered lilac in varying shades called Lilac Rose, Lilac and Exotic Lilac. We expect them to find favor even with people who would normally scorn lilac. Like other Geometrix® colors, our lilacs are ineffable, with an almost iridescent dynamic."

"Fire opal appeals directly to the passions, dancing seductively between gold and flame. Malachite is a deep dark gem-like color, like a brooding, glittering, bluish green ocean. Seafoam and Golden reflect the evocative qualities of their names."

Every color has its complementary color or colors, making it easy for a designer to mix Geometrix® designs with harmonious results.

GEOMETRIX® INVADES THE BATH

This year's new Geometrix® product introductions include bath bars. The new Vertex® bath bar is made up of two to six vertices. Matrix bath bars form a dramatic parallelogram of crystal.

Geometrix® bath bars offer interior designers a daring alternative to merely functional lighting, as the bathroom assumes more and more importance in home design.

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