Decorative Enamel Conical "Celeste"
The 1950s marked the beginning of a major extension of the range of ordinary incandescent lamps, with bulbs having new shapes and finishes for decorative applications. It was the goal of the lamp manufacturers to add value to their products so as to earn better margins, such as were being achieved by their colleagues in the luminaire business.

In 1946 GE pioneered the introduction of ceramic glazes fired into the bulb surface, which allowed ordinary mass-produced bulb shells to be economically coated with a coloured finish. A new soft pink colour was introduced in 1950 for the 50GA lamp, which introduced a decorative shape intended for low-glare lighting from bare-bulb ceiling luminaires. Initially very successful, a decade later that design had become outdated and consumers were looking for sharp new designs to set a new trend for the 1960s.

In August 1959 GE announced this 'Celeste' lamp, with sales scheduled to begin in 1960. Its design was inspired by similar European developments of Philips and Oy Airam, intended for use in low-hanging pendant lampholders. Rather than applying a flat colour to the whole bulb surface, only the sides are coloured and it features a decorative pattern of concentric rings. The whole inside bulb surface is acid-etched to produce a diffusing effect, and the bulb crown is not coated. This delivers a soft glare-free light downwards with relatively high efficiency. The result is an elegant lamp whose efficacy is not significantly reduced below that of the ordinary inside-frosted lamp. While this bulb shape proved to be popular in European markets, its style was not a great success in the Americas and the Celeste was discontinued after a few years.
Manufacturer: General Electric U.S.A.
Lamp Power: 75 Watts
Lamp Voltage: 115-125 Volts
Lamp Current: 0.625 Amperes
Cap Type: E26s Aluminium + Vitrite insulator
Bulb Type: DC-95 DC-30 in eighths/inch
Bulb Finish: Inside frosted Pink enamel coating
Filament Type: C-9 Single coil wreath
Atmosphere: 95:5 Ar:N2 Red phosphorus getter
Luminous Flux: lm
Luminous Efficacy: lm/W
Beam Intensity: N/A
Beam Distribution: N/A
Colour Temperature & CRI: CCT: 2700K CRI: Ra 100
Chromaticity Co-ordinates: CCx: 0.460 CCy: 0.411
Rated Lifetime: 1000 hours
Burning Position: Universal
Overall Length: mm inches
Light Centre Length: mm inches
Factory: Youngstown, Ohio U.S.A.
Date of Manufacture: Approx. 1965
Original / Present Value: Unknown Unknown
 
References: 1) GE Lamp Catalogue, USA, 1960, p.23
2) GE Press Release, Celeste Decorative Lamp, August 1959