Best in Lighting
Each of the finalists for best lighting is a master in their field. One is credited with founding modern interior lighting designs, while another creates sculptural masterpieces. A third produces lighting that radiates beauty from every angle while the crystal chandeliers of another have been sought out by royalty. Last, but not least, there's one which melds exquisitely cut crystal with its masterful designs

Baccarat
Bodner Chandeliers
Jean Perzel
Niermann Weeks
Schonbek

Best in Furniture
The best in furniture nominees offer a range of original artistry from simple and pure to the exotic; from traditional to the ultra-modern. The styles may vary but each has a timeless quality that extends far beyond trendiness. Many of their creations are collected by connoisseurs and even museums.

Vladimir Kagan
Kreiss
Roche-Bobois
Stickley Furniture
William Switzer & Associates

Best in Glassware
The Best in Glassware nominees for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from France, Sweden and the United States. Each represents the finest of quality and artistry while offering the most exquisite of designs. The styles may vary but all the nominees have their own proud tradition of glass craftsmanship.

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Lalique
Orrefors
Steuben
Tiffany

Best in Dishware
Nominees for Best in Dishware include companies that have been producing china for decades; some for centuries. Two have roots in the Limoges region of France, the cradle of the French porcelain industry. One nominee is quintessentially English while two produce American classics.

Bernardaud
Haviland Limoges
Pickard China
Tiffany
Wedgwood

Best in Antiques Resources
Nominees for Best Antiques Resource include the most prestigious art and antiques fairs in the world. These fairs, which are international in scope, are annual destinations for serious connoisseurs, collectors and museum curators who are in search of the best. Each of these fairs have rigorous vetting processes in which the quality, condition and authenticity of each piece is carefully investigated.

American International Fine Art Fair, Palm Beach
International Fine Art and Antique Dealer's Show, New York
Maastricht Art Fair, Netherlands
The San Francisco Art Antiques Fair
Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, Olympia, London

Schonbek has been nominated for the Luxist Awards in the lighting category.

Adolf Schonbek started it all as a young man in Bohemia in the year 1870 when he walked away from his family's glassworks business and struck out on his own. His chandeliers quickly grew in popularity, including commissions for Buckingham Palace and the White House. Years went by and the Schonbek name became famous for its crystal chandeliers, although eventually the European factories were lost to the Nazis and Communists and were relocated first to Montreal and later the United States.

Schonbek was acquired by Swarovski in 2007, melding Swarovski's exquisitely cut crystal with Schonbek's masterful chandelier design and manufacturing techniques. The resulting chandeliers are beautiful beyond measure and timeless in their appeal, and surprisingly at home among almost any decor or style. The Schonbek website has a decorating game that allows you to see how the entire feel of a room can be altered simply by changing the chandelier, and how they can enhance everything form an elegant architectural foyer to a cozy country bedroom.

If you're interested in seeing or buying Schonbek for yourself just send them an email and they'll connect you with a showroom near you.

Not a chandelier for a timid room or for a timid decorator, the new Da Vinci LED Crystal Chandelier from Schonbek "puts on a dazzling light show." And it's no wonder, since it's both enormous (available in 3 foot and 5 foot diameters) and is made up of hundreds of Swarovski crystals illuminated by either halogen or LED lights from within. The different lighting options mean you can either have a gently glittering moon hovering over your party or (by switching to LED mode) bursts of brightly changing color instead.

It's gorgeous, but I'm sure there are few with a place to put it!


Via Trendir

The vast majority of chandeliers do not get cleaned on a regular basis and with good reason: it is a huge hassle to take the thing down, disassemble it, clean each piece and reverse the process. It's a shame, because few things are as beautiful as light reflected through perfectly cleaned crystal. The Schonbek Da Vinci Chandelier could make the whole process much more convenient. It is the first ever machine washable chandelier. The spherical, crystal-covered org is built on a metal frame that separates into several pieces, allowing the chandelier to fit into a standard-sized dishwasher for easily cleaning. Sizes range from 10"-24" in diameter and you can opt to have the Da Vinci built with Swarovski Spectra crystal ($1,750 to $8,795) or Swarovski Strauss ($2,625 to $15,295).

[via NYT]