A stone table lamp from Bellerives is built on natural stone: marble or travertine, chosen block by block for its veining, its color and its density. Above the stone sits glass, metal or fabric, and each material shapes the light differently. This page describes every material we use, and the lamps made with it.
Bellerives is a French lighting house. Each lamp is designed and made in small numbers in the workshop of a French artisan. For stone parts, we use natural stone only.
Marble
Marble is a calcareous stone, and its veining is natural: no two blocks carry the same pattern. That is why the stone of your lamp will differ slightly from the photos, while the shape and proportions stay the same. Five of our lamps use marble, and no two use the same one. You will find them among our marble table lamps.
- Strates: warm white marble with deep violet veining, of the Calacatta Viola type, in a satin finish. The lamp is made entirely of marble, with the light concealed between two discs.
- Macara: light cream Statuario marble with grey veining, under a pleated fabric shade.
- New Works: dark reddish-brown marble, crossed by bold white veins.
- Lysa: brown marble with white veining, polished so that it holds the reflections of the room.
- Cline Vesper: beige marble with black veining, under a dark bronze shade.
The finish changes how the stone meets the light. A satin surface, as on Strates, stays soft to the eye in daylight and at night. A polished one, as on Lysa, reflects the room and the glow of the shade above it.
What is travertine, and why does it have pores?
Travertine forms from deposits of mineral springs. As it forms, it keeps small cavities, which show as pores and pitting on the surface, along with soft shifts of tone. On our travertine table lamps, those pores are left open, as they come.
- Sillon: beige travertine with natural pitting, cut with a groove for the slim bronze stem.
- Silex: light beige travertine with faint vertical shifts in tone. Lit, the top of the stone turns amber.
- Tellur: taupe travertine, matte and tapered, matched to a woven fabric shade of the same color.
Auren uses another natural stone: a thick cylinder of pale beige stone with a porous surface. Like travertine, it should be kept away from acids.
Glass
Glass decides how the light leaves the lamp. We use three kinds.
- Opal glass, on New Works: a white glass that diffuses the light evenly, with no glare. The top of the shade is a flat, closed disc, so nothing inside is visible.
- Frosted glass, on Lysa: a wide disc that spreads the light in a soft, peach-white tone, closed by a flat brass cap.
- Clear glass, on Zenith: an angled bowl with a white reflector disc. The light meets the disc, then spreads into the room.
Iris has a translucent dome in warm off-white, with a soft veining that appears once the lamp is lit. Its light is a very soft cream, with a slight peach tone.
Linen and fabric
A fabric shade filters the light and warms it. Each of our four fabric shades is different.
- Colonne: a tall cylinder of light beige woven linen. Lit, the linen turns a creamy ivory.
- Macara: off-white fabric set in firm vertical pleats. The weave stays visible, and the pleats filter the light into a soft, warm glow.
- Tellur: a drum of taupe woven fabric, giving a low, warm amber glow.
- Auren: a wide drum of beige textured fabric, finished with a silver pin. The light takes a warm golden tone.
Metal and lacquer
Metal draws the line of a lamp: a stem, a collar, a dome.
- Dark bronze finish: the dome and stem of Sillon, the matte dome of Silex, the conical shade and stem of Cline Vesper.
- Polished chrome: the four tubes and collar of Iris, and the rings at the collar and foot of Zenith.
- Fluted metal: the black column of Zenith, and the dark brown aluminum base of Colonne, fluted from top to bottom.
- Brass: the flat cap at the center of the Lysa shade.
Rubra stands apart. Its body is a polymer composite, finished in a uniform, high-gloss deep burgundy. Even switched off, the surface reflects the room around it.
Each material asks for its own care, set out in our lamp care guide. To see the stone up close, explore the marble table lamps. For open pores and warm tones, discover the travertine table lamps.