BUMP So we found a beautiful chandelier locally- Trilliane. Incredibly pretty. The sales person and owner of the small local lighting company told us that it is similar to the much larger version of Trilliane that he placed in his new home. He had a Spectra model on the showroom floor. It is the correct size for our dining room. However, he stated that he saved up for three years to buy the Elements model for his own home and he suggested that for the money it was worth delaying the purchase and waiting to come back and buy the Elements version if our budget allowed. His price is extremely good, but still ridiculously expensive. Can anyone comment on whether the coating on Elements crystal is that much more brilliant and refractive than Spectra? Really looking for some assistance here. It's a big purchase. Thanks!

I doubt you'd notice any difference unless perhaps you were a crystal expert.

You should post a picture, but I would say look up a lighting store in your area, take a crystal too them, and a photo. The key is taking it to a mom and pop or a long-running stores a lot of "sales people" may not understand how faceted crystals work.

The current mdoel chandelier is 57" from what point to what point - including the chain? Yours is 51" from where to where including the chain or not? You have to account for not just the size in inches between the two but the visual mass. The one in the model is almost no visual mass - there is little to look at aside from a ring and chain. Yours on the other hand is nearly all mass, which will make it look more imposing in the space. Not saying this is a vote for one or the other, just saying you are doing apples to oranges not apples to apples. Look for one large pendent / chandelier for over your island. It is huge and the size is unusual and it calls for a great focal point. Think of a single chandelier over your dining room table and one over your island as two pieces that are a pair - not that they are identical but each anchors a side of this large space and are in conversation with each other. I'd go for one big and glass like fixture over the island. This one is probably a bitch to clean but I have seen it in kitchens.