The lamp is very well made. The only surprise was that the glass ball is a bit "smokey" colored. The pictures on-line don't really show this too well. At first, we thought the smokey glass looked a bit "70's" but have since decided we like it. Would've preferred it to be seeded glass (with the little bubbles) or something else more of an echo to a period piece (though this lamp is firmly transitional: contemporary, with the suggestion of a period piece).