I found this antique French bronze chandelier with all it's original crystals at a Consignment store in Newport Beach, California. It was not in good shape, so it was very inexpensive. I figured even with the repairs and the crating and transport to Texas it was cheaper than the ones I see here in Dallas. So off it went, and up it went. And my, how I like it! Have I said lately how much I love Consignment Stores? There are real treasures to be found! You just have to use your imagination sometimes, i.e. visualize the above piece, not all wonky & crooked, not with missing bulbs and lopsided shades, not dirty & dusty, and not hanging among tchotchkes.
The cost of having a light fixture re-wired depends on how many arms the piece has. The less arms, the less expensive. This one was completely re-wired with UL certification from it's original french-wiring and was relatively cheap. I did however have a cheap but original 1960's Sputnik pendant rewired and because there were 18 arms, it was outrageously expensive! Lesson learned.
Also, they make such good resin candle sleeves now that look EXACTLY like wax, and they cost a lot less than beeswax too. I bought those to replace the plastic ones on here. If you are going to put more than 25watt bulbs in, it would be best not to do real beeswax, as they tend to melt with the higher wattage bulbs. Another lesson learned, again the hard way.
