The chandelier bucket list Originating as a ceiling-mounted fixture holding candles, the ornate and elegant silhouette of a chandelier has never lost its popularity over centuries. Today, chandeliers can be bought in any lighting store and range from the grandest, most extravagant centre-piece to a minimalist three-piece light, and yet their association with luxury has not disappeared. Through the centuries, this lighting style has inspired some works of fantastic creativity and engineering feats. This is a look at some of the best, most famous and most innovative chandeliers ever designed - each one is worth the visit to see. Paris Opera House Chandelier This seven-ton bronze and crystal chandelier was designed by Charles Garnier in the mid-19th century. The total cost came to 30,000 gold francs. The chandelier obstructed the views of the stage for the fourth level boxes, but Garnier defended the item, saying: "What else could fill the theatre with such joyous life?

Who else could offer the variety of forms that we have in the pattern of the flames, in these groups and tiers of points of light, these wild hues of gold flecked with bright spots, and these crystalline highlights?" A disaster occurred on 20 May 1896, when one of the counterweights broke and the chandelier crashed into the auditorium, killing a member of the audience. This incident inspired one of the most famous scenes in The Phantom of the Opera. Rotunda Chandelier, V&A Museum, London The V&A Rotunda Chandelier, created in 2001, is spectacle of glass by sculptor Dale Chihuly. Chilhuly's 'Chandelier' series began in 1992. He works with extravagant richly-coloured blown glass, drawing on the historic techniques of the Murano glassworks in Venice. Each separate glass element of the V&A Rotunda Chandelier was either free-blown, or was mold-blown into ribbed molds. Each element is coated inside with adhesive and was tied on individually with stainless steel wire to a steel rod.

A team of six started wiring from bottom to top and took over five days to complete the work.acapulco eforie nord pret In Dolambahce's Ceremonial Hall is the world's largest Bohemian Crystal chandelier in the world. waterford crystal comeragh chandelierThis chandelier was thought to have been a gift from Queen Victoria, although a receipt was since discovered showing that it was paid for in full. chandelier lustres porto alegreIt has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tonnes. Chandelier Bar, Las Vegas Fancy a drink inside a chandelier? The Chandelier Bar in Las Vegas is an inhabitable, multi-story visual spectacle housing a three-leveled bar. These floors are nestled in the heart of a casino, among the shimmering strands of 2 million beaded crystals.

It is an architectural wonder created by luminous beaded curtains of light. "Spuniks", Metropolitan Opera House, New York Designer: Hans Harald Rath for Lobmeyr The New York Metropolitan Opera House was built in the 1960s. The lobby is lit with eleven striking Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and the auditorium contains 21 matching chandeliers. These lights have become an iconic display of the Opera House. The chandeliers were a gift from the Austrian government to thank America for its aid in the years following World War II. The design came about during the International Space Race, and resembles a constellation with moons and satellites spraying out in all directions, giving the lights their nickname of "sputniks". The Gabriel Chandelier, Versailles, Paris Designers: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec The Gabriel Chandelier by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec was the first permanent contemporary artworks to be installed at the Chateau de Versailles and hangs over the Gabriel Staircase at the main entrance to the palace.

Manufactured by crystal brand Swarovski, the 12-metre high installation comprises 800 crystal modules threaded around a stainless steel skeleton containing an LED lighting system. "Chilien Red" Tree Chandelier, Kathryn Hall Vineyard, California Designers: Donald Lipski and Jonquil LeMaster This unique chandelier by sculptor-artist duo Donald Lipski and Jonquil LeMaster is designed to look like a grapevine sprouting from the ceiling, roots and all. It is laden with 1,500 Swarovski crystal ‘grapes'. The chandelier was created for the Kathryn Hall vineyard, a wine producer in California and hangs in a lavish hall within the vineyard’s cellars in which wine-tastings are held. The decorative piece was given the name ‘Chilean Red,’ which is an anagram of the word ‘chandelier.’ Chandelier, World Financial Center, New York Chandelier by Katherine Harvey is a lighting installation made in 2012 for the Winter Garden Lobby, World Financial Center in New York.

Hanging 15 feet tall, the item is entirely made from recycled plastic, monofilament and aluminium hoops, creating a spectacular contradiction between the magnificence of its design, the traditional opulence of chandeliers and the modesty of the materials used. Escalator Hall, Harrods, London Another bespoke contemporary glass chandelier designed by sculptor Dale Chihuly forms a stunning centrepiece to the Basil Street entrance of Harrods. Taking the floral patterns on the Edwardian staircase balustrades as inspiration, the exquisitely crafted 4m-deep sculpture is formed from more than 900 bespoke hand-blown glass pieces that were assembled on site. For beautiful furniture, accessories and daily design ideas for your home and lifestyle, shop at ACHICA. View all posts by Annabel SheenRosewood London – Time for Tea and the Slow Food & Living Market!The Rosewood London has a multitude of attractions - not only is it housed in a beautiful Edwardian building, but...If you have not caught this exhibition already, do not miss Halcyon’s show of Dale Chihuly’s latest work on display at both  144-146 New Bond Street and at Harrods, where a chandelier is exhibited.

Chihuly’s work never fails to grab you with his use of colour, form and dynamic use of glass. For those familiar or new to his work, Halcyon’s exhibition will not disappoint. Dale Chihuly, ‘Persian Ceiling’ (1999), 35 x 14½’, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Washington, 2012, © Halcyon Gallery The exhibitions is full of firsts – the ‘Persian Pergola Ceiling’ (the first time that this work has been shown in  a gallery setting) is your first encounter in the exhibition, under which you look up into a canopy of colour, light and form. In addition, six new chandeliers made for the exhibition can be seen in various installations including ‘The Cranberry Spire Chandelier’, ‘The Amethyst  Icicle Tower’ and the ‘Aero Blue Chandelier’. This is also the first exhibition in which the artist has displayed neon artworks in the UK, here displaying the 2013 works, “Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds”. Dale Chihuly, ‘Cranberry Spire Chandelier’ (detail) (2013), 76 x 76 x 75ʺ, 193 x 193 x 190.5 cm, © Halcyon Gallery

Chihuly is credited with revolutionising the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the glass medium from the realm of craft to fine art. He is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens. He has collaborated with the greatest American and Italian glass artists and has provided continued education for young artists, many of whom have become masters themselves. His vision has led to installations on a scale unmatched by any other glass artist. Major exhibitions include Chihuly Over Venice (1995-96), Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (1999), Garden Cycle (2001 to present), de Young Museum in San Francisco (2008), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011) and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada (2013.) Chihuly Garden and Glass, a long-term exhibition, opened at the Seattle Centre in 2012. Dale Chihuly, ‘Sapphire Neon Tumbleweeds’ (2013), Glass and Neon, 9 x 10 x 6ʹ, 266.7 x 312.4 x 190.5 cm, © Halcyon Gallery