How to tell Fake from Real  

No Eames Lounge Has A Tilt Mechanism
That's the easiest way... squat down and look for the spring tilt doohickey thing on the bottom.
If it's there-then it isn't a genuine.

The arms give it away?
Found this post on a design blog about spotting the 670 in Adam Sandler's new movie Click. The author says he recognized the chair by the arms... but take a closer look at the pics. lol.
Edited by DA: Broken link removed

Ha!
That's so funny!
That's the same chair I have, by the way. My current one, I mean.

The Aarnio ball chair is ...
The Aarnio ball chair is very annoying and the Eames chaise . I would never buy these now , because of all the copies. Generally the price tells the story or real vs fakes , but snakes try to pass off copies at high prices sometimes......beware
Know your mod

Please tell me who sells them!
"Corbusier LC2 and LC3 sofas and chairs
...Immediately spring to mind. There are many "knockoffs" of better construction and materials than the Cassina authorized versions..."
posted by decoboy
I don't think that Cassina's quality mathes their prices as I've written in this Forum before.
And they're not interested at all to supply their customers with new better parts than they delivered from the beginning. It's cheaper to buy a new LC2 than to buy new cushions for an old one.
And it's much cheaper to buy a complete new LC2 armchair from another manufacturer than to buy just the covers from Cassina. If they're selling them at all.
I asked their authorised dealer in Stockholm for the price on covers for my old armchairs and haven't got any answer yet - after three months!
So I would surely like to know who makes the "knockoffs" that you are refering to.
Tthank you.

Eames majik
its funny to read this stuff, you know why? A lot of brain power goes into figuring out....how can one buy a fake piece of functional art to look so close to the real deal? Why do you care? If your buying a fake, buy it because it is a fake and you don't mind that it is fake for better or worse, don't buy it to play Tom Foolery with yourself and your guests. Why by something fake to be looked upon as real? A fake piece trying to look real, is still a fake no matter how you slice it. The only person your fooling is your friends. Your not fooling yourself because you know its fake either way.
This sounds like blabber but its a point.

oh.
To answer your question.
When in doubt, don't buy it unless your 100% sure your going to happy with your purchase, bottom line.
Otherwise, buy new. Let yourself do the "Vintaging."
One can spend all day spouting out construction details To an Eames Lounger down to the fiber and the cow it came off of. Either way, its the Eye of the beholder that has to live with it.
I mean what do you want us to say? There are good ripoffs out there as much as con artists turning tricks.
Get a magnified glass and a fine toothed comb and scrutinize it till you talk yourself out of buying it and move on.

Shooter
I originally posted this question because i hadnt had a lot of experience with the 670 and I wanted to know some tips about purchasing a used one. For example - $500 is a heck of a price for an authentic 670, but in the higher range for a Plycraft version. Something like the tilt mechanism is a great way to know you're dealing with a vintage fake - especially if you havent gotten too close to an authentic Eames chair.
In the end I bought a Plycraft version because it does look nice, was cheap, and is comfortable. And I would never attempt to 'pass' it for the real thing. Thats just deceptive, and will only bring bad karma. 😀

hire a consultant
If you enjoy finding the answers yourself, you will find it yourself. And you will realize that the imperfect knowledge of an expert is hard to come by. The alternative is to buy the imperfect knowledge from the experts for 20 - 30% and oila you have the answers, the thing itself and all that time you would have spent asking and searching.

KARMA.......please give it up!
hey everybody in the world, please stop using "karma" as your new age buzz word to justify or not justify your actions.
if you take a modernist point of view, personal example in action is more a free will choice along with it's consequences. we need to stop atatching "karma", or any religious buzzwords to our actions. i'm sick of it! how the hell did karl rove make it to designaddict!
i am both my actions and thoughts.......and are you!
karma along with karl roveism........RIP
with all due respect, and sorry in advance.

maybe Im missing something
How is Karl Rove connected to karma?

Mario - I'll see your rant, and raise you an explanation
Some notes about your posting on karma.
1) Im not sure Karl Rove has anything to do with karma, or would even know what the word means.
2) the english language is a broad and complex thing. Specific words are chosen to most adequately convey an idea or concept.
3) Please take the time to research something before blindly ranting away about it. In this case both Karl Rove AND karma.
The idea of karma can best be expressed by the first stanza of the Dhammapada (a book of Buddhist teaching) It simply states: If one speaks or acts with a corrupt mind, suffering follows.
And yes, it is a religious concept, but it is hardly new age. It is also misguided to think of Buddhism as a religion in the same manner as Catholocism or Islam. While Buddhism has deities and demons, its main focus is on the individual and his/her actions. There is no punishment brought down from an angry god - only the suffering caused by misdeed. It is not punishment - only cause and effect- seemingly in line with your 'modernist pov'.
To speak of someone as having bad karma doesnt mean that some unseen GOD will punish them. Karma is the internalization of bad deeds. Example:
" A man accidentally kills a person. He does not tell anyone. The guilt of his action causes him stress. The stress causes him to have a heart attack."
Of course this is an extreme example. Perhaps if I put it in an old fashioned term "what goes around comes around"...thats karma, more or less.
As a general adherent of Bhuddist tenets I did take offense at your comment. Your apology is accepted, in advance.

good explaination/defence!
very well articulated points. i now appreciate your point of view, thank you. you must forgive us satanists as we sometimes have a need to kick up the dust a little. i trust no harm was done.
please know i have sufficient insurance in the case we may have a karma crash in the future.
happiness everywhere!

Is this the real thing?
I found a Eames lounge chair seat without the base. It looks like a fake but I would like the forum's expertise.
And by the way, how much is the base for the chair when bought separately?

This thread may highlight...
This thread may highlight that Karl Rove might have much to do with karma, even though he may not know what the word means.