Lighting
Introduction and Scenario
The finish of a lamp is not judged under ambient light: a metal reflection behaves differently once the light source is switched on, and a surface that looks correct under diffuse lighting can turn aggressive or flat, the moment it is fitted inside a lighting body.
From this observation came the project between Cromonichel and a decorative lighting company, which commissioned the metal plating of a collection of pendants and wall lights with curved and tubular metal bodies.
Destined for high-end residential and contract projects, the collection had to keep a consistent light output across models and a controlled finish across different geometries.
Analysing the Challenge
Two factors make plating for lighting a particularly sensitive ground.
The first is geometric: curved, concave, cylindrical, and tubular forms shift the current distribution within the plating baths, generating differences in thickness between exposed and electrically shielded areas.
The second is functional: the finish is not just a visual data point, but an optical parameter that affects how light is emitted. A finish that is too glossy produces glare and bright spots; a finish that is too matte reduces the perceived depth of the body.
The balance had to be found under the light source, model by model, and held constant across the editions of the collection.
The Cromonichel Process
The first step was to define the reference reading: sample pieces were produced, lit and assessed directly in the workshop, inside the same lighting body in which they would be fitted.
Only after that validation were the cycle parameters locked. Surface preparation involved degreasing, polishing, and activation cycles differentiated for brass and steel, calibrated to the behaviour of each metal in downstream treatments.
The plating bath was set to deliver an intermediate finish — non-mirror, with an ordered reflection that redraws the body’s profile without generating unwanted bright spots.
To handle deposition on curved and tubular geometries, dedicated suspension jigs and auxiliary shielding were designed to redistribute current toward the least accessible areas.
Production was split into tranches in line with the delivery schedule; each tranche was checked for tone, thickness, uniformity, and light output, the latter verified using the same reference light source used at the sample stage.
Manual finishing was planned on the most exposed details, where close-up reading calls for an additional layer of refinement.
The cycle documentation, logged for every production run, allowed the same parameters to be replicated on models added to the collection at later stages.
Outcome and Value
Delivery took place tranche by tranche, in line with the company’s commercial calendar.
The light output, verified piece by piece under the reference source, held the balance between reflection and depth defined at the sample stage: no model showed the concentrated bright spots or the diffuse matte areas that — inside a lighting body — are picked up immediately.
Cromonichel entered the product definition at the development stage, not at the end of the line: the finish stopped being a closing step and became a design parameter, with the same technical weight as the choices regarding form and light source.
