Auster wall light with alabaster glass, in black

The Auster is an indoor wall light built around a genuine alabaster glass diffuser on an iron body finished black. Alabaster is the reason to choose it: the stone is faintly translucent and unevenly veined, so light passing through it is never quite flat. What you get on the wall is a soft, slightly variable glow rather than the even panel a moulded acrylic diffuser produces.

Because the material does the work, this is a fitting that looks like something when it is switched off as well as on which matters in a hallway or a bedroom where it spends most of the day unlit.

Colour rendering above 90 CRI

The Auster is rated above 90 CRI, which is unusually high and is the specification that should decide whether this fitting suits the room. Most domestic LED fittings sit above 80. The difference between 80 and 90 shows on skin tones, timber, textiles and artwork exactly the surfaces a wall light in a bedroom, hallway or living room is lighting.

Paired with an alabaster diffuser, that high rendering is the whole proposition: warm, accurate light through natural stone. Specifying a cheaper fitting in the same position and expecting the same effect is the usual disappointment.

Five colour temperature settings

The fitting is adjustable across five colour temperature settings, from a warm 2700K through 3000K, 3500K and 4000K to 5000K. That is a wider and finer range than the usual three-step tri-colour fittings, and it is worth using deliberately: 2700K suits a bedroom, 3000K a living room, and the cooler settings a hallway or a workspace where alertness matters more than warmth.

The Auster draws 12W and is Triac dimmable, so it works with a conventional LED-rated wall dimmer which on a fitting with this diffuser is worth having, because alabaster at low output is where it looks best.

Power and installation

The Auster runs on 240V AC mains with no driver required. It is a Class 1 fitting and requires an earth connection, so installation is work for a licensed electrician.

It is rated IP44, which covers splashing water, and IK04 for impact. IP44 means it can be used in a bathroom outside the immediate shower zone, though the local wiring rules for bathroom zones should be checked by the electrician rather than assumed from the rating alone. Rated lamp expectancy is >30,000 hrs and the LED is built in, so there is no globe to buy or replace.

Frequently asked questions

Is the diffuser real alabaster?

Yes alabaster glass, which is why the light through it is softly variable rather than perfectly even.

How good is the colour rendering?

Above 90 CRI, which is higher than the 80-plus typical of domestic LED fittings.

Can it be dimmed?

Yes. It is Triac dimmable and works with a conventional LED-rated wall dimmer.

Can it go in a bathroom?

It is rated IP44 for splashing water. Bathroom zone requirements should be confirmed by your electrician.

Is there a globe to replace?

No. The 12W LED is built into the fitting.