Chandeliers crystallise a glitzy vision at The Tea Room

What do chandeliers cost these days? The Tea Room at the Queen Victoria Building just found out, its newly installed lighting coming with a price tag of a bit over $900,000 according to the owner.

Admittedly the cluster of French Baccarat chandeliers is pretty spectacular, and took five days to install, but the price tag represents a lot of scones and tea.

"We really wanted to take the room to another level. When you have a 10-metre ceiling height, you want to show it off," says The Tea Room owner Manuel Spinola.

The restaurateur admits they could have purchased Czech crystal at one-quarter of the cost, "I'm told these are a better investment than property".

Spinola isn't sure if any other restaurants are splashing about that sort of money on lighting but believes a home in Point Piper also recently installed a Baccarat chandelier.

And the price to run them?

"I'm not sure, I haven't got an [electricity] bill yet," Spinola says.