Jaza Round Travertine Pendant Light

The Jaza is a round travertine pendant reduced to one shape and one material. The shade is a solid disc of natural travertine, twenty centimetres across and twelve high, turned so the profile curves gently from the rim to the centre. Travertine is formed in mineral springs, so the block it comes from is full of veins and small open cavities, and the turning process cuts straight through them: what you see on the finished surface is the inside of the stone, a warm beige body crossed by paler and darker bands with pores scattered across the face. Where the stone is thinnest at the rim, the edge picks up a faint glow when the lamp is on. The light itself is directed downward out of the open underside, so the disc works as a shade in the literal sense and keeps the source hidden from anyone standing beside it. Above the shade, the ceiling cap is turned from wood, a small warm detail at the point where the fixture meets the plaster, and the cord is adjustable up to one hundred and fifty centimetres, so the drop can be set for a low table or a high ceiling. The finished object is closer to a bowl than to a lamp, which is exactly the impression it should give.

Jaza was designed for the table. Hung sixty to seventy-five centimetres above a dining top, the disc puts a clean circle of warm light on the surface, holds it there, and leaves the rest of the room to whatever else is lit. That contrast is what makes an evening table feel like a place rather than part of the room, and it is why a directed shade beats a diffusing globe over a table. Over a kitchen island the same drop gives working light without lighting the ceiling, and the stone stays comfortable to look at from the far side of the counter because there is no visible source. In a living room, hung lower in a corner beside a chair, it becomes a reading light with a fixed pool underneath it, and the wood cap keeps the connection to the ceiling from looking industrial. The material sets the tone in all three rooms: beige stone with visible pores sits naturally next to oak, paper, wool and plaster, and reads calm rather than decorative. Fit two or three in a row over a long table if the table is more than one hundred and sixty centimetres, spaced evenly, so the pools of light overlap slightly and no seat sits in the gap between them.

There are many round pendants at this size and most of them are spun metal painted to look warm. Jaza is cut stone, and the difference is obvious from underneath, where you see actual mineral structure instead of a coating. Because the disc is solid travertine it has real mass, so it hangs still, it does not ring when something knocks it, and the shape holds up from every angle rather than only head-on. It also means every one is different. The banding may run flat across the face or tilt, the pores may cluster on one side, and the beige may lean warmer or greyer; a photograph can only show one example. The adjustable cord is more useful than it sounds, because table pendants are almost always hung too high, and having a hundred and fifty centimetres to work with lets you get the shade down where it actually shades. It suits Japandi, Scandinavian and modern interiors built on natural materials, and it suits anyone who wants one clear object over the table rather than a cluster of small fittings. If you are furnishing a dining room from scratch, this is the piece to choose first, since the table then gets its position from the light.

• Material: travertine with wooden ceiling cap
• Shade dimensions: 20 cm diameter x 12 cm high
• Cord: adjustable up to 150 cm
• Light: directed downward from the open underside
• Style: minimalist, Japandi
• Included: 1 lamp, 1 light source, 1 ceiling cap
• Finish: natural stone, veining and pores vary per piece