Translucence - Contemporary Chandelier Company

‘Translucence’ commands soft attention, a luminous eye opens like a quiet vortex of light, drawing the gaze inward through rippling rings of crystal clarity. The glass surface, alive with fluid striations, seems to hold the memory of motion, as though light itself were caught mid-spiral and given form.

At its heart, a radiant core glows with measured intensity, encircled by a delicate corona of warm metallic rays. This inner sun casts a soft, expanding halo across the surrounding surface, sending light spiralling outwards in gentle waves, like the echo of a single drop falling into still water. A luxurious fusion of traditional glassmaking techniques, decorative laser cut cast acrylic and modern led technology.

Both celestial and intimate, the work reads as a small universe anchored to the wall: part eye, part star, part shell, part portal. It is a study in depth and reflection, where transparency and shadow interlace, and where illumination becomes sculptural rather than merely functional. Crafted by the Contemporary Chandelier Company, it transforms architecture into atmosphere, and light into a moment of quiet, contained wonder.

We are both glassmakers and lighting designers; ‘Translucence’ is inspired from the wish to reinstate the traditional craft-based technique of hot glass to a utterly bespoke contemporary process rather than that of mass production. This handmade quality is referenced in the deliberate soft three sided ’round’ of the main glass form.

We further wish to combine this singular material with the emerging LED cob technology, even though we are ultimately hiding the light source from view. We wish to use the unique properties of variable thickness optical glass and experiment with the interplay between two interactive glass surfaces, natural and integral light and ultimately explore a luxury aesthetic.

Each individual light can be viewed as a unique bespoke object, each subtly different from the next. The laser-cut acrylic detail, enhanced with a luxurious gold leaf texture, creates focus and further enhances the light source; itself, offered in various design permutations, emulates the same material properties of the main body yet offers precision, detail, and durability.

This design has recently been specified within a 5 star luxury hotel, where they become the decorative focus in each of the 200 rooms.