I have been looking for a nice vintage Diamond chair for a while. This particular one is within my budget and has the white and black colour combination that i like. There's one problem though, altough the basket looks ok, the base is off (welded to the back, not to the front). Was there ever a difference in production or am i dealing with a fake?
I would love to get some advice/opinions on the matter.
Thanks in advance!
(The bolts were replaced by the way..)
looks like this one:
http://www.designaddict.com/forum/General-discussion/Bertoia-diamond-ori...
given your location I wouldn't be surprised if it's one that was authorized and made in Belgium.
To add to this, there are other models where the base seems to have been manufactured differently than the usual ones:
baby chair:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2867693
bird:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9352514
large diamond:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9336919
ottoman:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/37345464_stool-424-1952
side chair:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9352591
I wonder why anyone would make the rest almost identical to the eye and change only this part of the base
I'm 99% certain that it's a genuine Knoll chair. I can't tell if the base portion is painted (wet spray), Rilsan coated or has a simple black oxide finish. If you can measure the wire diameter of either the basket wires or base (the base might be easier), you might be able to determine if the wires are metric. If American made, the base should be constructed of 7/16" rod. If it isn't, it's probably early European made. They were made in Belgium in the mid to late 50's (maybe a little later.
Regarding the base, I've seen a few where the tails of the upper portion of the base was mistakenly welded to the rear of the crossmember rather than in front of it as it's supposed to be. I have a 420 base that tells the same story.
I don't know of any knockoffs made before the 80's.
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