Vintage Chandeliers: 1960s, Art Deco, Mother-of-Pearl — the Buying Guide

Italian Sputniks, signed Art Deco bowls, mother-of-pearl pendants: three families of antique chandeliers that hold their value, and how to buy them.

1 MIN · 5 OBJECTS IDENTIFIED

The chandelier has come back through the vintage market: nobody wants the mass-produced ceiling fixture anymore, everyone is after the piece that makes the ceiling. Three families dominate the searches — and three very different markets.

The 1960s-70s: Italian brass

Branching Sputniks, cascades of tubes, clusters of opaline globes: the Italy of Stilnovo, Sciolari and Reggiani produced the most sought-after chandeliers of the moment. Attributed pieces go for €800-3,000, fine anonymous ones for €200-600. Values have tripled in ten years — a Sciolari lot passed €14,000 in Milan earlier this year.

Art Deco: the safe bet

Pressed-glass bowls signed Muller Frères, Degué or Schneider, mounts in bronze or nickel-plated brass: the Art Deco chandelier of the 1925-35 years is plentiful, documented and still reasonable — €300-1,200 depending on signature and condition. Check for the signature moulded into the glass and the absence of chips around the rim: a cracked bowl loses almost everything.

Mother-of-pearl: the rising exotic

Pendants in shell and mother-of-pearl — from Philippine capiz drops to 1970s creations — bring what brass cannot: a milky, almost liquid light. Long overlooked, they are climbing: €100-400 for a fine piece. The rows of drops unknot and can be replaced; the wiring, on the other hand, is always redone on an antique chandelier.

Spotted a chandelier in a window or a photo? Scan it on Beyit: family, period, value.

The Beyit scan

One photo, every piece identified.

Your room, a shop window, an inspiration screenshot: send the photo, we find the pieces and their alternatives at every price.

On iPhone, the app does the same from your camera.