This is a beautiful chandelier that hangs in my office as a wedding planner and gets constant compliments. Yes, you have to assemble it yourself (and by assemble, it means you have to open the little hooks on the crystal strands and put them in the holes.) It took about 20 minutes total and was by no means complex. Which was good, because they instructions are minimal at best. Note that there are no installation instructions. The chain is likely going to be far too long for any basic room ceiling but links can be easily removed. It came with a couple of extra crystals so I added two to the bottom ball for added effect. It's beautiful!