Watkins Tiffany flush ceiling light - 2 light sources - Valiant Bronze Elstead

Watkins is a Tiffany-style flush ceiling light from the American brand Quoizel, distributed in Europe by Elstead Lighting. The shallow bowl-shaped shade is made of pieces of art glass joined with the copper foil technique developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. A ring of motifs resembling peacock-feather eyes runs around the rim, each set with an amber glass cabochon, and bands of glass in shades of green, blue, violet and honey radiate from the centre, meeting in a red eye at the bottom. The steel ceiling canopy is finished in dark Valiant Bronze.

Size and mounting

The light is 42 cm in diameter and only 13.5 cm high, so the shade sits close to the ceiling and takes no headroom. That suits rooms where a pendant would get in the way, such as a hallway or a bedroom with a lower ceiling. Compare the 42 cm diameter with the size of the room: in a small space the coloured shade becomes a clear accent on the ceiling. The fitting weighs 1.9 kg, and the shade is held to the canopy by decorative clips at the rim.

It is a Class I fitting, so the installation must include an earth conductor. It is intended for indoor use only.

Bulbs and light

The shade takes two E27 bulbs of up to 60 W each. Bulbs are not included. As a separately sold accessory, the manufacturer recommends a clear LED E27 A60 lamp rated 8 W, 800 lm and 3000 K. Two of these give roughly as much light as two old 60 W incandescent bulbs, in warm white. The coloured glass tints and diffuses that light, so the fitting gives atmospheric, coloured light rather than bright task lighting.

The fitting is dimmable when used with bulbs marked as dimmable and a suitable dimmer.

Which rooms it suits

The manufacturer intends Watkins for the living room, dining room, bedroom, study, hallway and walk-in wardrobe. The radiating glass layout and peacock motifs come from Art Nouveau, the movement Tiffany style grew out of, so the light belongs where it should decorate the ceiling rather than just light the room.