A head to head between scenic pendant lights

Reworking the concept of the chain, two new lights look to high jewelry for inspiration

In an exercise perfectly pairing both technology and ornamentation, the latest generation of lamps amaze and excite with their functionality and decoration. Revolving around the concept of composition, the novelties presented during this year’s Milan Design Week refine ancient techniques to craft original and unexplored forms. Among the pendant lights — where the concept of modularity becomes a spark for creativity — we find the chain as a central element constructing the luminous body. Inspired by the volumes and juxtapositions of high jewelry, contemporary chandeliers place LEDs and light sources in a free succession, creating dangling bracelets that are potentially infinite. To show you how is this week's head to head challenge, presenting Lucente by Visionnaire and Broken Chain by Stories of Italy.

Presented during the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023, Gupica's new light for Visionnaire is a carousel of suspended bijou diffusing a warm and reassuring glow, restoring a special gradient effect. Scenic in the chandelier version and more compact for the table, Lucente enhances a juxtaposition of diffusing bodies, imagined as a succession of colorful gems. Joined one after another, the lamps running along the steel and brass chain take shape from a prime/secondary material, obtained from the regeneration of PMMA — commonly known as Plexiglass — which is reborn with an entirely new appearance.

Defined by a "baguette" cut — a typical geometry of high jewelry — the individual units are hand-polished and articulated shades of "Ruby," "Sapphire" or “Emerald". Gliding from the ceiling to animate the color spectrum radiated by LED lights, the Emilian company's latest project explores the behavior of light as it expands and reflects off the faceted surfaces of precious stones.

References to jewelry are also found in Broken Charm, the new light presented by Stories of Italy in the spaces of Alcova during this year’s Fuorisalone. Displayed as a full-fledged installation among the ceilings and floors of the former Milanese slaughterhouse, the project from the brand and design studio led by Dario Buratto is "a luminous jewellery piece composed of coloured Murano glass bodies that, like precious jewels, are joined together by a cast brass frame," reads the description. "An oversized bracelet broken down and reassembled that is actually a chandelier-jewel that can be customized infinitely.”

Made to measure on demand, its scenic suspension reinterprets the tradition of Venetian blown glassmaking by applying both technique and decoration: maximalist in color, with bright, sometimes electric hues, the work is developed around several simple spherical volumes, hooked here and there along a wide-meshed golden chain.

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