Friday, June 30, 2006

I’m looking forward to a four-day weekend. My office takes off Monday and Tuesday for the fourth of July.   My mother-in-law will be visiting. We’ll take her up on the widow’s walk to watch the fireworks.

Fireworks are fun, but as far as I’m concerned, I have fireworks to enjoy every day with my Schonbek crystal chandeliers. My preferred form of fireworks.

The fire of a crystal chandelier has the advantage of not being noisy. It’s wonderfully creative, too. The play of light changes every minute. It might be safe to say that no minute spent with your crystal chandelier is precisely like the minute that went before. The spectral effects created by the crystal in the changing light, in the constantly shifting ambiance of the room, are ever new. Someone has to plan a fireworks display. A laborious task, I’m sure. The display of fire and color in a crystal chandelier is the spontaneous manifestation of the energy of the universe.

It’s this quality of being alive that I love about a crystal chandelier.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

The oldest water in existence on the Earth is probably contained in a bubble somewhere in a chunk of rock crystal quartz. I find this fascinating.

But don’t look for this bubble in the gemstones on a Schonbek rock crystal chandelier. Schonbek doesn’t use any rock crystal with water bubbles. The presence of water can weaken the quartz. Schonbek uses only dense, sound gem-quality quartz to ornament its rock crystal chandeliers.

So why am I mentioning this ancient water? Just for fun, really to emphasize the mysterious origins of rock crystal in the very beginning of things.

If you’d like a rock crystal chandelier that calls attention to its quartz ornaments in an unusual way, consider this new Versailles.

What you see, most of all, is the basket of rock crystal. The idea that this is a chandelier is secondary. The scrollwork is quite restrained, and there are rock-crystal-studded chains in place of a conspicuous frame. The large rock crystal drops that predominate are not faceted, which tends to highlight the markings inside the quartz. I have this type of pendant on my Tesoro rock crystal wall sconce, so I know.

We call this a contemporary rock crystal chandelier, because you won’t ever see anything like it in a museum or a history book. Yet it’s fancy too, and has some traditional elements, like the rock crystal rosettes, the crystal finial sphere and the seventeenth-century styling of the scrollwork. Perhaps we should call it eclectic. I can see this rock crystal chandelier looking great in a variety of interiors.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

I seem to be obsessed with rock crystal chandeliers this week. I’ve just written some rock crystal chandelier ads for Schonbek distributors, and this may be why they’re on my mind.  

A rock crystal chandelier is the very antithesis of mass-produced lighting. First of all, every gemstone hanging on the chandelier was made in the furnace of Nature. It can’t be manufactured. Then there’s the immensely labor-intensive process of   cutting it and polishing it. The people who do this are knowledgeable gemcutters. You really have to know what you’re doing to make a rock crystal ornament out of raw quartz. One wrong move, and your semi-precious gemstone is a pile of rubble.

So the natural quartz gemstones hanging on your rock crystal chandelier have gone through a lot to get to you. Eons of geological upheavals, and finally the careful carving and polishing of the stonecutter.

“Natural” is getting to be a word as powerful as “new” and “now” in marketing. As life gets more automated and plastic-coated, natural materials get more and more appealing. You can’t get much more natural than rock crystal.

Rock crystal chandeliers are surprisingly versatile, too. The natural quartz has a primal quality that’s highly compatible with a kitchen. At the same time, because of the aristocratic history of rock crystal chandeliers, they feel at home in a formal dining room or foyer.

If your home hass lots of natural stone or tile, if you sleep between all-cotton sheets, if you filter your water rather than drinking tap water, then a rock crystal chandelier might be very attractive to you.

Monday, June 26, 2006

The hot weather we’re having lately has made me think a lot about rock crystal chandeliers.

Rock crystal is naturally cool to the touch. In ancient times and hot climes, women wore rock crystal jewelry to cool their skin. And the well-to-do drank out of rock crystal goblets, the natural way to keep the wine cool.

Let me call your attention to Facts About Rock Crystal on this website. I had a lot of fun researching rock crystal when Schonbek first introduced rock crystal chandeliers. People at Schonbek also supplied me with interesting tidbits.

One of my favorite stories concerns the Hapsburg Emperor Rudolph II, a famous collector of rock crystal art objects. During his reign, he spent progressively more of his time, and the State treasury, on rock crystal collectibles. He neglected his royal duties, studied art and alchemy instead of the needs of his Empire and finally had to be dethroned.

The fascinations of rock crystal were simply too much for Rudolph. He saw the mysteries of the universe revealed in rock crystal, and could not get enough of this amazing mineral.

If you decide to get a Schonbek rock crystal chandelier, you’ll have endless stories to tell your admiring guests. Or to stimulate your own thoughts. Over the ages, rock crystal has captivated not only self-indulgent monarchs but serious philosophers. What philosopher could resist this mirror into the origins of Earth, this seemingly eternal gemstone that fire would not melt nor acid dissolve?

When it comes to choosing a rock crystal chandelier, the quality of the crystal is of prime importance. There’s a lot of junk crystal on the market. You don’t want it in your home, except in a kid’s mineral collection. Schonbek has its own source of rock crystal and only uses gem-quality specimens. The less desirable grades are sold off for lesser purposes.

Gem-quality rock crystal has a perfect balance of clarity and distinctive internal markings. Your Schonbek rock crystal chandelier will be a collection of gemstones no two of which are alike. If you hang it over a table, you might want to hang it low, to enjoy the distinctive character of each and every chunk of quartz.