A block of stone should not be able to glow. Cut it thin enough and it does, which is the whole trick behind alabaster chandeliers and the reason no acrylic diffuser has ever matched them.
Every piece we make starts in a quarry and passes through six hands before it reaches a ceiling. Here is that journey, and how to tell the real thing from a copy.
Key takeaways
- Alabaster is a pure, fine-grained form of gypsum, and it is very soft.
- Only about 30 percent of quarried stone meets our grading standard.
- Each shade is turned down to 8 to 12 mm, thin enough to pass light.
- Every fixture runs a 24 hour burn-in test before it ships.
- Resin copies are lighter, colder in tone and identical to each other.
What is alabaster, and why does it glow?
It is stone, not glass. Alabaster is the name given to particularly pure deposits of massive gypsum, a mineral so soft it sits at 2 on the Mohs hardness scale, which is what makes it carvable and why light travels through a thin section of it.
That softness is a gift and a warning. It lets an artisan turn the stone on a lathe like wood, and it means a careless knock will mark it.
The glow itself comes from translucency. Light entering a 10 mm wall of stone scatters through the crystal structure and leaves warmed and softened, carrying the veining of that specific block with it. No two shades diffuse light in quite the same way.
How are alabaster chandeliers made?
Slowly, and with a lot of rejection. Our alabaster chandeliers pass through five stages between the quarry and your ceiling, and roughly two thirds of the stone we look at never makes it past the first one.
- Selection. Craftspeople grade raw blocks for even colour and minimal veining. Around 30 percent clears the bar.
- Turning. Each bowl or shade is turned on a lathe and thinned to 8 to 12 mm, the window where the stone glows but still holds its shape.
- Finishing. Five grits of hand sanding, then a natural beeswax polish that feeds the surface instead of sealing it under plastic.
- Assembly. Stone components are fitted to precision brass frames, which carry the load and the wiring.
- Testing. Every finished fixture runs 24 hours of burn-in, checking the electrics and the evenness of light through the stone.
The stone dictates the pace. Push a lathe too fast through gypsum and you lose the piece, along with the week of work behind it.
How do you tell real alabaster from resin?
Weight, veining and the light itself. Plenty of fixtures are sold as alabaster lighting while being resin, acrylic or painted glass, and the difference shows up the moment you pick one up or switch it on.
|
Test |
Real alabaster |
Resin or painted glass |
|
Weight |
Heavy for its size |
Suspiciously light |
|
Veining |
Unique to each piece |
Repeats across the batch |
|
Light |
Warm, uneven, deeper at the edges |
Flat and uniform |
|
Touch |
Cool, like marble |
Room temperature, faintly plastic |
|
Price |
Quoted per piece |
Sold cheap and in bulk |
The batch test is the one no factory can fake. Line up three genuine alabaster chandeliers and the veining differs on every shade. Line up three resin copies and they match, because they came out of the same mould.
Where does the stone work best?
Anywhere the light needs to be soft rather than sharp. Stone diffusers glow rather than sparkle, which makes them the opposite of crystal and the reason designers reach for them in rooms meant for rest.
- Bedrooms: the warm, low-glare light people actually want at 10 PM
- Dining tables: a soft pool of light that flatters food and faces
- Stairwells: a cascade of stone globes reads as sculpture from every floor
- Corridors: our alabaster wall sconces throw a quiet vertical wash
- Spa bathrooms: yes, but keep the stone well clear of steam and splashes
Stone is one of the fastest-growing categories in our range, and it sits at the centre of the 2026 lighting trends our design team is tracking.
How do you care for it?
Gently, and dry. Gypsum is soft and slightly soluble in water, so the rules are the opposite of what you would do with glass. Dust it with a dry microfibre cloth, and keep water, solvents and household sprays away from the surface entirely.
Heat is the other consideration. Our fixtures use low-heat LED modules precisely because a hot halogen lamp sitting inside a stone shade is a slow way to damage it. If you want to see the difference the material makes, our showrooms keep the stone pieces lit all day.
Frequently asked questions
Is alabaster real stone?
Yes. It is a natural, fine-grained form of gypsum, quarried in blocks and carved by hand, not a coating or a marketing name for glass.
Why are they so expensive?
Alabaster chandeliers cost more because two thirds of the stone is rejected, the turning is done by hand, and each piece takes days rather than minutes to finish.
Does alabaster yellow over time?
No. The colour is in the mineral, not in a dye or a paint layer, so it does not fade or yellow the way tinted acrylic eventually does.
Can alabaster crack?
It can chip if struck, because the stone is soft. In normal use, on a brass frame with a low-heat LED, it is stable for decades.
How do you clean it?
A dry microfibre cloth, and nothing else. Water, alcohol and cleaning sprays will dull or mark the surface, because gypsum reacts to moisture.
Is it suitable for a bathroom?
Only away from steam and splashes. A dry vanity wall is fine, directly above a shower is not.
What should you do next?
See one lit before you buy one. A photograph flattens the veining and evens out the glow, which is the entire point of the material and the one thing a catalogue can never show you.
Browse our stone chandeliers online, then come and stand under one. Alabaster chandeliers only make their case when the light is actually passing through the stone.
