Glass Arm Chandeliers date back to the late 17th century. After the Thirty Year’s War metal was a rare commodity needed for military hauteur. So glass became the material of choice to reinterpret the classical chandelier types. Glass as the main structural element gives these archetypical models a new clarity and lightness like an antithesis to their arduous emergence. Pure and elegant interpretations originate in the Bohemian tradition. Early examples draw from Dutch brass chandeliers with their typical balls. Lobmeyr reconstructed fixtures for Schloss Hof Palace near Vienna, the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy. More recent examples Lobmeyr created 200 years later with mousseline-thin glass.

Western and North European styles coined strong and opulent interpretations of the glass arm idea. One example is the English Regency style which gains a unique lightness from the glass arms despite the strong presence of its examples.

The light and lofty Empire Style in North-Eastern Europe and English Georgian Style combine the lightness of the glass arm idea with an opulence of crystal chains and feathers to create lustrous bodies of light.