Investing in Permanent Christmas Lights is an exciting venture. It means less hassle during the holiday season, and it gives your home an alluring glow all year round. As you search for the perfect lighting solution, you’ll likely come across several options, including Gemstone Lights and Trimlight. We installed Gemstone Lights for years, and in September 2025 we moved to our own system, built to our specification, so we aren’t selling either brand here. We’ve never installed Trimlight, so we won’t make claims about its current specifications. This post covers what we’d compare between the two, and how our own system answers the same questions.
Brightness and Light Quality
Most of our customers run their lights as everyday accent lighting far more often than as a holiday display, so judge brightness on warm white, at night. Ask for the lumen output per light and how many diodes each light uses, and ask to see an installed home after dark.
Then ask where the warm white comes from. The Gemstone lights we installed used a dedicated warm white diode, which gives an incandescent-style white; white mixed from red, green and blue tends to look cold. Finally, check whether each light can be selected on its own in the app. Individual control is what lets you light only the peaks and corners and leave the rest of the run dark.
Durability and Ease of Maintenance
Most permanent systems mount the lights in an aluminum track under the roofline. A fully enclosed track protects the wiring from sun, water and pests. An open track costs less and suits some rooflines. Ask which one you’re being quoted, and why.
Next, ask what happens when one light fails. On the Gemstone systems we installed, each light threaded into place with a weatherproof connector, so a single light could be swapped in minutes. Ask whether the system you’re considering works the same way, or whether a repair means cutting and splicing wire.
Read the Warranty Definitions
“Lifetime warranty” doesn’t mean the same thing everywhere. Some manufacturers define lifetime as the rated life of the product, not your lifetime or the life of your home. Before you compare warranties, get bulbs, parts and labor as separate lines, in writing, with the definition of lifetime spelled out.
The Astoria Lighting Co. Difference
At Astoria Lighting Co, we aim to provide the best Permanent Christmas Lights solutions that offer lasting value to our customers. Our own system is built around the questions above: a dedicated 2800K warm white chip, individually addressable lights, and lights that each thread in with a weatherproof cap, so a swap takes minutes. We offer a fully enclosed track and an open track, both color matched to your trim. Every installation is backed by a lifetime warranty on bulbs, a 10-year bumper-to-bumper warranty on installed parts and a 3-year service warranty on labor.
We publish our pricing: $18 to $24 per linear foot of roofline, plus $250 to $450 for the controller and power supply. Most homes land between $2,000 and $5,000 all-in.
Check out our gallery for different ways you can use our Permanent Christmas Lighting system for nightly accent lighting on your home and outdoor living spaces!
If we installed a Gemstone system on your home, we still service it, including warranty claims. Our support page has help for the Gemstone apps, or you can call your local team.
If you’re ready to light up your home with superior Permanent Christmas Lights, or have any questions, reach out to us at Astoria Lighting Co. Let us help you create a bright and dazzling home with lights that stand the test of time.
