Comparing permanent lighting systems
What a Lifetime Warranty Actually Covers
Two of the big brands publish a lifetime warranty. A third calls that idea an illusion and publishes five years instead. Here is what each one actually states, and the one word that decides which is worth more.
Year six, the second week of December
A section of your front gable goes dark. You dig out the folder, and there it is in bold: lifetime warranty.
Good. The bulb is free. Now go find out what the visit costs.
That gap between the two is the entire subject here, and the manufacturers themselves are openly at war over it. Gemstone publishes a lifetime warranty on the lights. Trimlight publishes what it calls an industry leading Lifetime Product Warranty. JellyFish publishes 5 years on parts and 1 year on labor, and then, on their own comparison page, calls the other approach "more illusion than reality".
One of the three is telling you in public that the other two are selling you a number. We are not going to referee that fight. We are just going to show you what each company puts in writing, and point at the one word that decides which promise is actually worth something in December.
What each company publishes
| System | Product warranty | Labor, and who performs it |
|---|---|---|
| Gemstone | Lifetime warranty on the lights, against a stated 50,000 hour life. 10 year warranty on all other components, and their FAQ states the warranty is transferable to new homeowners. | Their FAQ states "Each authorized dealer offers its own labor warranty, and any on-site service may incur fees depending on the dealer’s specific warranty terms." |
| Trimlight | A lifetime product warranty, with bulbs covered on up to 50,000 hours of light use. | Their FAQ states "All dealers have a minimum 1-year labor warranty" and directs you to your dealer for the specifics, because Trimlight HQ "is not responsible for installation, support, or repairs". |
| JellyFish | A "5 year parts warranty with a 1 year labor warranty", stated on their own comparison page. | One year, and the same page argues lifetime warranties are "more illusion than reality". |
| Architectural Ambiance | The manufacturer warranty on the parts we install. Shorter than the two lifetime claims above, and we are not going to dress that up. | Our own workmanship guarantee. If something we installed fails, we come back out and make it right. |
Competitor rows quoted from their own published pages: gemstonelights.com/pages/faq , trimlight.com/faq , jellyfishlighting.com/blog/everyone-vs-jellyfish All checked August 7, 2026. Warranty terms change and can vary by dealer, so read the current document before you sign. Gemstone Lights, Trimlight and JellyFish Lighting are trademarks of their respective owners and are named here only to identify the products being compared.
Parts and labor are two different promises
This is the whole game, and it is where most warranty comparisons fall apart.
A product warranty covers the hardware. If a bulb or a controller fails inside the term, the manufacturer replaces the part. That is genuinely worth having, and a lifetime term on parts is a real commitment.
A labor warranty covers somebody coming to your house. Diagnosing which run is dead, pulling the ladder off the truck, tracing it to a connection or a controller, fitting the replacement, testing it after dark. On a roofline that is most of the actual cost of a repair.
You do not have to take our word for this, because the manufacturers say it themselves. Gemstone's FAQ states that each authorized dealer offers its own labor warranty and that "any on-site service may incur fees depending on the dealer's specific warranty terms". Trimlight's FAQ states that all dealers carry a minimum one year labor warranty and tells you to ask your dealer for the rest. JellyFish publishes one year of labor outright.
So a lifetime parts warranty with no labor attached means that in year six, the part is free and the visit is not. That is not a scam, and it is completely normal across the trades. It is just a very different promise from the one most people hear when they are told "lifetime warranty", and it is worth knowing which one you are being offered.
Four questions to ask every company, including us
- Does this cover labor, and for how long? If the answer is only about parts, ask what a service visit costs in year three.
- Who physically comes out? The manufacturer, the dealer who installed it, or whoever holds the territory that year.
- How fast, in season? The honest answer in the first week of December is different from the honest answer in June, and a company that admits that is telling you the truth.
- What voids it? Roof work, painting, pressure washing and hurricane damage are the usual exclusions, and they are worth knowing before a roofer is standing on your track.
Ask us the same four. Our published product warranty is not the longest one on this page, and we would rather you go in knowing that than discover it later. Where we are willing to compete is on the second and third questions, which is the subject of who actually services it.
Questions people ask
Is a lifetime warranty worth more than a five year one?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on what it covers and who performs the work. A lifetime parts warranty that does not include labor still leaves you paying someone to come out, diagnose it, get on a ladder and swap the part. A shorter warranty that includes labor can be worth more in practice. Read both documents for the word "labor" before you compare the headline numbers.
Why does JellyFish criticize lifetime warranties if the others offer them?
Because they are competing with them, and it is a fair argument to put in front of you rather than hide. Their own comparison page calls offered lifetime warranties "more illusion than reality" and publishes 5 years parts and 1 year labor instead. Whether you find that more honest or just shorter is a genuine judgment call, and it is yours to make. Source: https://www.jellyfishlighting.com/blog/everyone-vs-jellyfish, checked August 7, 2026.
Whose warranty is longest?
On published product terms, Gemstone and Trimlight, both of whom state a lifetime warranty on the lights themselves. Ours is not the longest published product warranty in this category and we would rather say so plainly than have you find out from someone else. What we do control is the workmanship, and that is where our own guarantee sits.
What happens if the manufacturer goes out of business?
The warranty goes with them, which is true of every brand on this page including the system we install. It is one more reason the installer matters as much as the badge. A local company that can still diagnose the run, source a compatible part and get on the ladder is worth something a paper term is not. Ask any company how they would handle exactly that.
What does your workmanship guarantee actually mean?
That if the thing that failed is something we did, the track, the runs, the connections, the mounting, we come back and fix it. No argument about whose fault it was. Call (727) 222-3111 and you get one of the two owners, not a ticket number.
Ask us the hard version
Have us out, ask all four questions, and hold us to the answers. The design and the written price are free, and there is no obligation either way.