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Reality Check
Any piece you see for sale, whether it’s an Eileen Gray table or a Le Corbusier chaise, is not a piece the designer ever actually touched. Sure they designed it, and even created prototypes, but times have changed and, more importantly, so has technology. What you see for sale are reproductions or, as licensees and licensors like to say, “re-editions,” and, more often than not, they are revised.
Even in Florence Knoll’s early reproductions of the Barcelona Chair, modifications were made from the original. Photo’s of the original chairs show that the cushion tufts were diamond patterned, not squares. And though the original chair frames were built of nine steel components bolted together, Knoll opted for seamless welding. She kept the chrome-plated steel until the advent of polished stainless in 1964, which cost more but, unlike some chrome applications, didn’t peel.
Joe Szegedy of Plushpod.com mentions the original Panton chair. Made of fiberglass, expensive production costs of this stackable design icon were always passed on to the buyer. Now, you’ve got options -- the original fiberglass model at around $1,000 or the ‘60s classic in polypropylene for about $200.
Quality Control
Yes, it’s true—you get what you pay for, and in reproduction quality costs plenty. But consider this purchase as an investment says Johnson. “Licensed, copyrighted products offer the best value for the money and many of them appreciate in value over time. Authentic products bring high auction prices at Christie's and Sotheby's where as a knock-off or counterfeit would depreciate in value over time.”
Search the Barcelona Chair and you’ll find prices ranging from $650 to $5,800. Any guess would put the $5,000 chair at a better quality than the one for $650, but what about all those prices in between? As with any large purchase it pays to shop around and, of course, it always helps if you know what you’re looking for.
What’s in a Name…
If you’re ready to shell out for a high-end re-edition, look at products by Alivar, Gordon International, Hermann Miller, Knoll and Vitra. Companies like these meet or exceed the quality specs issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Some test products stringently in their own labs for colorfastness and resistance to fire, fading, pilling, and wear and tear. All this testing takes time and money but the yields are high––museum quality pieces you can live with.
When in doubt, take a second look says, Johnson. “Connoisseurs of good design can differentiate the authentic from the counterfeit by examining the frame materials, upholstery quality and construction and minute details such as stitching." Sometimes you’ll find the re-edition stamped with the designer’s name and serial number, although all licensed manufacturers don’t do this.
There are some grey areas of course. Some designs don’t have copyrights – but their revisions do. So who the “authentic” producer of this re-edition is, is a matter for legal experts. In that case, quality should be the tie-breaker and when all else fails, price. But buyer beware, don’t be fooled by an expensive price tag. Just because the cost is great, doesn’t mean the quality is. Attention to detail will expose the difference between a great knock-off and a plain old rip-off.
Gordon International pleads––know your product and shop around. Compare the quality of the pieces you find that fit your price range. If the piece has steel construction, note its quality and gauge. Look at the finish and ask about the application technique. See if the joint connections are visible and strong. Also notice if the piece has an anti-tip device or strength reinforcements.
If you’re looking at a piece constructed with wood, find out the species and ask about the finish and its application process. Notice whether the finish is applied in an even coat throughout.
Always inspect the covering of the piece. Feel the upholstery and ask about materials and cleaning methods. Look for substantial stitching. If it’s a leather piece, ask about the thickness and grain used. A quality manufacturer will choose only the best leather pieces, without “range marks” the skins get from bites or scarring.
The Albatross of Good Taste
Let’s be realistic, without the great wealth to back it up, having great taste can be downright depressing. If you’re just starting out and have a whole home to furnish, you probably can’t part with $4,000 for a “right to spec” re-edition. Don’t worry, there’s no downside to saving money if the cash you did spend went toward a quality piece. Take the time to look around, work with a retailer you trust, and you’ll find the style you love at a price you can afford.
Pavilion Past Forward
Remember the Barcelona Chair? Designed expressly for the king and queen of Spain, this chair was a new, modern take on the scissor-like collapsible stools used by Roman and Egyptian rulers. Reinterpreting the form in steel and leather, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created a clean, now classic style that didn’t sacrifice the chair’s inherent meaning—to represent high status and exalted political position.
After just six months, the building Mies designed and created the Barcelona Chairs for was dismantled (the German Pavilion had been built for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain). His chairs, the only two in existence, might have been lost to the future, were it not for the ingenuity of manufacturers.
In 1931, a German catalogue began offering the chairs. In 1948, Mies gave an apprentice photographs of the originals to create a few more for the lobbies of the Chicago Lake Shore Drive apartments. Later that year, Florence Knoll obtained Mies’s permission to begin a limited mass production of the design and hired Treitel-Gratz to complete five chrome-plated steel frames a week.
Caroline Kooshoian is an editor for Pure Contemporary.
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