Friday, February 15
Schonbek has a flair for naming crystal chandelier designs. Some names are so apt that I wished I‘d thought of them.

Tesoro, for  example, means treasure in Italian. And it’s richly adored with rock crystal gemstones. Perhaps it’s more common to think of gold and silver, diamonds and rubies, as the Earth’s treasures. But rock crystal and other natural quartzes get my vote. They bear the signature of Nature in their mysterious internal markings. They have that look of being frozen in a moment of time, the moment unimaginably long ago.

La Scala is a wonderful name for this very theatrical chandelier. Surely opera is the most extravagant form of theater, and La Scala shares this quality of exuberant drama. La Scala combines ornate cast arms with an elaborate display of classic crystal shapes. Two levels of complexity are unfolding at once in the design, like a duet between agitated lovers at a turning point in their lives. And yet somehow perfect harmony prevails.

Genesis is a great name for Genesis, the crystal chandelier, because this design is all about creativity. The leafy frame is an allusion to the Tree of Life. The rock crystal bobeches and finial sphere might be said to symbolize the creative forces of the Earth. And the many colors of the crystal cabochons that ornament the frame are suggestive of the infinite variety in the universe.

I mustn’t forget Da Vinci™,  Schonbek’s perfectly round crystal chandelier, named after the great artist and inventor. I like to think Da Vinci himself would have admired the ingenuity involved in making this gorgeous chandelier dishwasher safe.

Thursday, February 14

Valentine’s Day inspired me to think of a Schonbek crystal chandelier symbolic of a happy relationship. Well, there are many. I might describe every Schonbek chandelier design in those terms. But let’s consider Hamilton trimmed with rock crystal and clear crystal.

These two types of crystal are very different.

Rock crystal is ancient, a natural quartz, essentially clear, yet with internal markings that give it an air of mystery. These markings tell a tale of the suffering of the Earth during its earliest days – geological upheavals, violent temperature extremes and so forth. Rock crystal when skillfully cut and polished (all hand operations) exhibits a subtle luminosity as it interacts with light.

Clear crystal, made by humans rather than Nature, is uniformly transparent. Sharply cut into facets and highly polished, it produces dazzling bursts of spectral color when interacting with light.

So you have the contrasts of old and new, glitter and glow, philosophy and drama, natural beauty and human creativity.

Schonbek combines these contrasting types of crystal with perfectly serene results in a Hamilton chandelier. Just as two very different people can live together in great happiness and harmony when they experience true love.

Andrew Schonbek, when discussing new crystal chandelier designs, often points out juxtapositions of contrasting elements. In the hands of a gifted designer, contrast is not jarring but rather quite thrilling. Subtle contrast, as you see in a Hamilton chandelier between the rock crystal gemstones and the clear crystal jewels, brings this artistic tension to a high level of sophistication.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Valentine’s Day is coming, and I’m going to suggest a great way to avoid unwanted gifts in dubious taste. Ask your significant other for a Schonbek crystal chandelier!

And don’t accept a surprise chandelier. Make an entertaining excursion with your beloved to a major lighting showroom, and shop the Schonbek display as a couple. So that the shopping experience becomes part of the gift.

A crystal chandelier may not be the first thing that comes to mind to celebrate Valentine’s Day. But if you think about it, it’s an ideal gift between people who live together or spend most of their time together. It will remind you of your love every day.

Your Valentine’s Day chandelier could be a serious investment in love, like La Scala or Renaissance. Or more of a fashion item for your home, like Bolero, which comes in all sorts of trendy colors. To honor the love theme, you might go for a pink or red Bolero. The official color names are Crimson and Light Pink.

Of course, for those who wish to be utterly romantic about Valentine’s Day, The Rose is a natural. You can have your roses in permanent form with The Rose crystal chandelier. There are tiny rose sculptures entwined in the scrollwork.

Perhaps you’re used to getting jewelry for Valentine’s Day? But bejeweling your home can be as much fun or more. And if you end up with an impulse purchase of a crystal chandelier in some wild color, you’ll have an excuse to redecorate a room to complement it.

To my mind, creating a beautiful living space is an act of love, an immeasurable kindness to the people you live with.