Maria Theresa 5-light Crystal Chandelier

This is the first review on this product, but the same manufacturer makes the 6-light and 13-light versions that Overstock carries, so if you want more opinions/reviews, those are pretty accurate for this fixture as well. I do a lot of design work and the manufacturer of this product makes a lot of crystal. Here's the thing, they make about 4-5 different versions of the same chandelier; all with varying levels of crystal quality from base grade on up to name brand crystals. This specific fixture Overstock sells is the base grade. That doesn't mean it's bad, but you should have the right expectation so you're not thinking it's going to be super sparkly crystal. Up close putting it together I felt "ok" about it (it seemed a little dull). Once it is was all assembled, hung and lit, I loved it- gorgeous piece. Even not lit, once it's hanging it catches enough light around it to create a good amount of sparkle and not stay "dull" as it appeared when I was putting it together on the floor. Basically you are getting a superior product than what you would buy from a major big box type of store for the same price, but it's not as elegant as a piece you'd get from a high end lighting store (that you'd pay a lot more for)- so again, have the right expectation. For the money, it is a good value, it just depends what you're looking for. FYI- It is a chrome base wrapped in the crystal, so you really can't see much chrome on the arms and middle. There is a small flash of chrome holding the bottom cup together, on all of the arm pieces and of course the chain and ceiling medallion. Overall it looks mostly made of crystal. Also, it has SIX lights- 5 arms, and one extra light in the center that isn't too visible once all the crystal is strung. This isn't noted in the description. As for assembly, they get a lot of complaints about the time, etc. You do have to attach each individual crystal piece by hand and the directions are very basic (no written instructions, just pictures). But it wasn't rocket science. It took me about an hour to assemble and 20 minutes to hang (pre-existing wiring here). I know this part gets a lot of complaints, but again, for the price and the quality of the piece, a little assembly wasn't bad. I had shopped around a lot prior to purchasing and this was easily 1/3 of the price of most everything I was seeing.

• Would you recommend this to a friend? Yes