Real Eames Lounge Chair?  

Okay, I'll jump.
First, KL, nobody here wants to be the one to tell you that your chair is an unauthorized repro.
That said, there's nothing about it that I can see that screams "fake". But I am certainly no expert on recent production Herman Miller ES670/671 sets. Mine is an early '70's version with some minor differences that may or may not be due to changes in production methods and materials since then. Mine has matching numbers stamped into the insides of the panels whereas yours are hand-written and the cushion clips are a slightly different shape. The locations of the clips and snaps seems similar, though.
There are a couple of things that bug me about the appearance of your chair. The arm pads look too thick and clumsily fitted to my eye and the veneer doesn't look quite like any that I've seen on newer-production sets. If it is HM, I'd have to guess cherry, though the color seems off and your grain is more pronounced than usual. The palisander examples I've seen were a much darker brown overall, but I suppose yours could be a paler variation, I don't know.
I think the fact that the replacement shock mounts you bought fit the holes in the arm bracket is a good sign. Maybe you could post some pics of the cushion backings w/ closeups of the zippers and a shot or two of the seat support spider as well. A count of the number of individual plies in the laminated shells might help to pin it down, too.

Thanks for your response...
Thanks for your response tktoo. I will try to get a shot of the base to post on the thread. What you said about the arm rest makes sense and it might have to do with how the backrest was adjusted at a different angle because of the new set of drill holes, creating a little bit of fitting issue. There're 7 layers of plywood altogether, btw. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.......

There's no evidence of a missing label?
Nothing at all? Could there be one obscured by the seat support?
If it IS HM, there's no way it left the factory without one and they are usually stuck on there pretty well.
As far as I know, Herman Miller has only ever offered choice of veneers in rosewood, walnut, ash, cherry, or palisander.

.
.

It appears to be a knock-off.
I enjoyed reading about you're acquiring an Eames style lounge chair. I probably wouldn't have executed the repair quite the same fashion, but perhaps it was a good experience (and a learning curve) for a father and his son. Enjoy your chair!
Best,
Mark

Mark, you may not find this
as hilarious as I do, but I took our dear KL to be female and I have no idea as to why I would!
Probably the booze, but I digress.
Doesn't the veneer on KL's lounge set seem at all unusual to you? I must say that I have never seen another example quite like it before. Maybe I'm just a natural skeptic. I agree that just about everything else looks authentic, but I still want to see the backings on the cushions before I'd feel comfortable falling one way or the other. I haven't taken a good look at all of the more recent repros and I've heard that some are very convincing.

Oh goodness, you could be correct tktoo!
The booze has confused me many a time. I should drink more.
Fondly,
Mark

I am pretty sure it's not the real thing
Looking at the picture with the cushions removed it does not look right. The screws fastening the back braces to the lower back appear to be countersunk and originals never are. Plus the size of those screws look to be almost as large as the two screw holding on the upper back. There was a time when there might have been just a set number written on the wood panels like those number 6s. But now there are numbers plus operator initials plus date stamps for press dates plus shock mount glue dates also

KL...
What history did the seller give you about the chair?
Did they tell you where they got it?
When they bought it?
How old it is, etc
This kind of information would help...
added: I agree something seems off about it, the arms do look a little boxy, the two rear wood panels appear as two very different colors (I'm unsure if this due to sun fading or if it's just the photo).
The leather is throwing me off also.
If it is a recent production, it seems peculiar that all the stickers and labels would have fallen off with no trace of any residue from them at all.
I'd be interested in hearing what the seller told you about it....

KL
Is that seat cushion just sitting in there? because it appears that the zipper is at the front.

I got the set on Craigslist....
I got the set on Craigslist. Basically the seller said he got it in the 90's at Arkitektura in San Francisco. So the chair itself is probably close to 20 years old. Who knows if there've been repairs done on it. One side note is that the seller did live in a nice apartment with nice furniture in a nice neighborhood. Of course, that can't be any proof of authenticity of the chair, but I did take the "nice" elements into account when I was deciding whether or not to buy it. By the way, it is true that the parts that hold the 2 back rests together are countersunk and all 6 of hex screws are of the same size. But as Jimbo suggested, is it true that originals NEVER are hex screws?
As far as the leather, it appears to be of very good quality, thick and supple. Like I said, the surface may have more to do with the conditioner that I put it. The wood panels do seem to match in person although I have a hard time telling if it's walnut or what.
I don't know if I'm just comforting myself or not, but with all the questions being raised about the authenticity of the set, along with all the trouble that I've gone through and am still going through with the shock mounts, I've bonded with the chair even more, to a point where I almost don't care of it's real or fake. Of course, I'd still like to find out that it's real, but if in the end it turns out to be a replica, I think I'll still be happy with it because of the overall quality of the chair. It's a funny feeling like when you have to go through so much hardship to get something, you just value it even more. I don't know if that makes sense.
You guys are raising awesome questions and are helping me learn about the chair every step of the way. Please keep teaching me. Thank you!!!

I have seen many lounge...
I have seen many lounge chairs with the cushions off. If you take one from the 1950s and one manufactured today the screws will interchange. There are four 1/4 inch screws with phillips heads that go through the lower back and two 3/8 screws also with phillips head that are countersunk into the upper back. Plus the veneer on the inside of the panels should be the same wood as the A face. Meaning the veneer on the outside. Yours looks to be a cheaper veneer on the inside. Also the backs look like they were cut from two different pieces and they should match closer since all four wood panels from a genuine Eames lounge chair come from the same blank. Like someone else said the arms to not look right and to me everything looks not quite right.

sorry that chair is not re...
sorry that chair is not real . the Herman Miller arm pads have a
s curve on the cording . i see none of that only a L shape.
Every thing that leaves Herman Miller has a label. no way it was hidden. They check every thing that leaves the factory and has a initial of the worker.

things that bother me about it:
one button in the top section of the back looks higher than the other
gap between shell and cushion on the upper right corner of the back mid-section
ripples in right armrest boxing
right button in ottoman not pulled in as far as the left button
welt on edge of ottoman pulled in
welt on front edge of seat cushion is rippled
All of which speak to sloppy upholstering, something you don't see on Eames lounge chairs.