Crystal chandeliers are still treasures

Q: This chandelier was given to me 40 years ago by a friend who dismantled an old house in Mooney’s Bay near Ottawa. It has four tiers with a “ball” crystal finishing it off. I believe the crystals are lead and the mounting, wires and parts are brass. It’s about 46 centimetres (18 inches) in length. Two crystals were broken but I found replacements at a flea market. I never looked for markings. Donna, Stittsville A: In the manufacturing world, component parts were (and are) often made by different factories and then assembled by another company who puts its name on the finished product. Chances are the two-piece crystals (prisms) that make up your fixture were made in Europe. The Bohemians (Bohemia is now the Czech Republic) were prolific producers of glass who sold their output worldwide.

Daniel Swarovski, the namesake of today’s famous company, developed an electric glass-cutting machine that increased prism production and allowed decorative lighting industries to flourish.

The metal parts were probably made in North America, where the fixture would have been assembled.

Regardless of where your chandelier was assembled, crystal chandeliers are valued for their elaborateness and opulent showiness. The more arms, tiers, swags and other embellishments a chandelier has the more valuable it is.

Today, your small decorative, chandelier would fetch about $450.