Absolutely gorgeous! Yes assembly is required. At this price point and with shipping how could it possibly be preassembled Instructions were a little challenging. The pictures on the website were critical. Read the directions thoroughly in advance. The whole wire label thing is pretty weird until you get to the end and have your aha moment. Putting the fixture together was significantly more difficult than putting the crystals on. I love that the crystals are customizable. That’s the reason I bought it and I was not at all disappointed. You can follow the pictures or do your own thing (which is what I did). I have enough bling to make me happy but I  didn’t go with the whole drapy necklaces thing and shortened the crystal strands so it looks less grandma and more contemporary. Overall I’m absolutely thrilled and I can’t wait to show it off.