Décoration

The largest chandeliers in the world: From the work to the manufacture.

July 17, 2018

In this article you will discover the most impressive chandeliers you have ever seen.

You probably know some of these achievements, but I'm sure you'll learn some new things.

Are you wondering how such gigantic works are made?

As a Master Crystal Companion, I will explain it to you.

The largest chandeliers in the world were designed by various major crystal houses.

A question comes to your mind: what are these chandeliers and why create such monumental works?

You can imagine that they were made to special orders.

But which ones?

Several houses wanted to design monumental pieces in order to create the largest chandelier in the world.

But a few years ago the chandelier was created which is truly the largest in the world.

You will discover everything in this article.

I will start by presenting the various best-known achievements.

Step 1: The largest chandeliers in the world.

Have you ever been to the Emirates?

For those who have had the chance to discover Dubai, you have surely been to Abu Dhabi which is an hour's drive away.

As you know, this region of the world is known for its extraordinary achievements. And it hasn't failed for ages.

The world's largest chandelier is 15 m high, 10 m in diameter and weighs 12 tonnes. The equivalent of the height of a 5-storey building.

This chandelier is installed in one of the largest mosques in the world: the Sheikh Zayed Mosque (it measures 22,412 square meters).

You will find it hanging from the central dome.

The multitude of small details and the colors that adorn this work will surprise you.

It was made on a stainless steel base, gold-plated brass and crystals.

To facilitate access to the centre of this gigantic light fixture, an internal staircase has been installed to ensure maintenance.

The lighting is provided by LED bulbs (always more resistant over time, and it does not generate heat)

Here are some pictures:

Now that you know more about the largest chandelier in the world, let's move on to the largest chandelier made by Maison Baccarat.

In 2014, for the 250th anniversary of the house of Baccarat, its subsidiary Baccarat Pacifique KK commissioned a magnificent birthday gift, which I will show you.

This light fixture is the result of the collaboration between the Japanese designer Morita and the artisans of the Baccarat factory who worked for 9 months to create it.

This chandelier is made up of 4 floors.

It measures 8.4 m in height, 4.6 m in width. As for its weight, it is estimated at 1.8 tonnes.

You will notice that the final rendering is very airy. This is the intention of the Japanese designer, who by combining steel for the frame and crystal has succeeded in creating a piece that nevertheless remains light in relation to its volume.

The new feature is the use of stainless steel, which is used as decoration and allows you to play even more with light.

Even if obviously the 386 lights which illuminate the 25197 pieces of crystal and the 152 branches already have a great effect.

Do you know how long it takes to put up a chandelier of this size?

It took four weeks to put together this rather extraordinary achievement.

If you want to see this work up close you will have to go to Tokyo to the Yebisu Garden Palace where it is exhibited.

But to start here are some pictures.

Let's leave the land of the rising sun and return to Arabia. Well, not quite, because the chandelier I'm going to show you was made by a major French company before being exported.

This is the Saint-Louis Glassworks.

Did you know that it is the oldest crystal factory in France?

At Saint Louis they also receive beautiful special orders.

The first to be truly monumental was that of an Arab Prince.

As you probably know, at the very beginning, this crystal factory was a Royal crystal factory and today it is strongly present in the palaces of this world.

By the way, on this subject, if you want to know more about crystal and crowned heads, I advise you to read the article that I published on my blog which is entitled:

The love story between crystal and crowned heads

Well, let's get back to our sheep.

This order was one of the largest chandeliers made at Saint-Louis.

It was made entirely of white crystal.

It measures 3.50 m in height, 4 m in diameter and weighs 1500 kg.

It took 177 hours of hand cutting, 85 hours of machine cutting and still 150 hours of work just to do the pre-assembly.

Finally a great project carried out by a great company.

Well I know you want to see a picture:

But that's not all: in June 2012, the Saint Louis crystal factory received another, even more spectacular order.

A client from Eastern Europe ordered a 9-meter high chandelier with a diameter of 4 meters wide for her 5000 square meter villa.

Of course you imagine this one in the entrance of this sumptuous villa but no, the order was installed on the ^4th floor.

7000 pieces, 212 lights required 4 glassmakers for 6 days who had to work hard to assemble this monumental work which was imagined by the designer Patrick Neu in collaboration with the client.

The chandelier is said to have cost around 600,000 euros, however as you can imagine the crystal maker has remained discreet about the price of this work and photos are difficult to find.

But I still managed to find two for you.

Finally, you have understood that many crystal factories produce surprising works.

In this article I wanted to show you the most famous and especially the most complex and monumental chandeliers that have been made.

Special orders allow us, as crystal artisans, to surpass ourselves.

On this very subject I thought it would be interesting if I explained to you how these gigantic works were made.

Because I too have the chance to be able to make monumental chandeliers and it gives me pleasure to be able to share my passion and my know-how with you.

I will explain to you how a chandelier of this size is designed, and what makes it special.

Wondering what makes it exceptional?

You will understand.

Step 2: Design and manufacture of the largest chandeliers in the world.

The design of a custom-made crystal chandelier is determined by several parameters:

- to begin with the tastes and desires of the customers.

- the style and size of the room intended to accommodate this unique piece.

- and of course the expert advice of the designer who is there to guide and support you throughout this project to ensure it is a total success.

We start by developing a sketch defining the broad outlines, and in this case for monumental pieces.

It is necessary to take into account the weight, the resistance of the materials, the technical feasibility depending on the materials selected and the dimension of the chandelier and the constraints that this generates.

Once this first step has been completed, the design work for each piece begins.

We start with the central shaft, the true backbone of the chandelier on which each piece will be attached.

The choice of materials for the arms is essential and determined by their length.

In fact, in the case of very long arms or those acting as a supporting structure, it is often necessary to make them in metal, which will then be covered in crystal, or gilded with fine gold or even silver.

The most commonly used metals are generally bronze, stainless steel or brass.

To ensure good durability over time and to avoid any problems due to oxidation, these metals are powder coated.

Once these steps have been validated, a crucial moment arrives for the general design of an extraordinary light fixture:

The design of its crystal trim, its cups, accommodating the bulbs and their bobeches and the trim.

Here is an example:

In the garnish, the crystal pieces are often referred to by the generic term of tassels.

Depending on their shape and design, they have different names: daggers, almonds, drops, plaques, or even octagons...

These crystal pieces are first hot formed to produce what is called the rough shape.

Then each piece will be meticulously cut and polished by hand.

On these exceptional pieces, each row of tassels is often different, in order to give an even more exclusive character to this creation.

All these parts will of course be listed. A template of each of them is carefully kept so that a request can be responded to in the event of a part breaking.

Now all that remains is to deliver and install the light fixture.

Most often the chandelier is transported in separate pieces and assembled on site due to its size and weight.