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The story of Schonbek chandeliers is much more than just the development of a means of lighting. The Schonbek history moves from a land of riches and opulence, where the Schonbeks moved amongst nobility and royalty, to troubles with Nazis and Communists and finally to world renown once more.
In 1870, the Schonbeks were a wealthy family who owned a glassworks in Bohemia. The young Adolf Schonbek decided that he wanted to start up on his own, and so he left the family business. Although chandeliers had first appeared in church as a means of lighting up the huge halls, by the end of the 17th Century owning a chandelier was a sign of great wealth and style. Chandeliers were grand and opulent, yet lead crystal was becoming cheaper to extract so more people could afford one. Adolf decided that chandelier manufacturing was an ideal opportunity, and his business quickly grew.
Continuing in the family tradition, Adolf’s son Arthur took over the business, followed by his son Arnold. In the intervening time not only were Schonbek chandeliers ordered for Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s residence in London, but also for the White House, the President of the USA’s residence. The Emperor of Hapsburg, Francis Joseph I, was so impressed by the fine quality of their work that he even awarded a patent of nobility to one of the Schonbek ancestors.
When Arnold took over the business, at the young age of seventeen, he found himself at the head of a large business in the depths of the depression. His father had died of a heart attack, and all the family wealth was invested in the company. He decided to postpone his education to take charge of the business. Arnold saved the company from the threat of bankruptcy, and managed to revive the factories after the Second World War. But with the arrival of Communism, the battle was finally lost. As he left for Canada, his five factories in Czechoslovakia were already being taken over by the Communists. Arnold was left with little but his skills, but he was determined to start up his business again.
Arnold built his first crystal chandelier by hand, sitting in the basement of a rented apartment. As his business built up once more, he decided to move the whole of the operations to New York in the USA. The rest, as they say, is history. The Schonbek family still own and control their chandelier business, and their chandeliers are still famous for their history, their style and their design.
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