the reproduction chatter should be moot  

word
to yo motha

Beloved...you must be Gwen...
Beloved...you must be Gwen Stefani?

Whitespike:
if some enterprising Chinese furniture company came out with a new line of quality reproduction including, for example;
Kangaroo club chair (Nelson)
Tea Table (Carlos Mollino)
Table Lamp (James Harvey Crate)
Nelson desk (Nelson)
Cutout fiberglass chair (E.& E, Laverne)
The Noguchi game table
and a few other key design classics that have been completely out of production for more than 40 years, I suspect the conversation would be quite different!

Barry
It might be, but they wont. There is too much risk involved in bringing back something that's not proven to make money. Thats the same reason why Herman Miller/Knoll/Fritz et al. avoid it (especially in this economy) You may believe (and who knows-you could be right) that these products would sell, but unless people know that for sure, they're not going to invest the money, infrastructure, tooling, advertising to do it.
Even the most progressive of knock-off companies- Modernica - has introduced precious few pieces that are not already on the market. (The Grasshopper, the Eames folding tables, and the ThinEdge bed) Most knock-off companies just lack the vision/risk taking to do it - they are like parrots, all they can do is spit back what is fed to them. (Take a look at the disasters that happened when Modernica ventured out on it's own: The Prince Charles Chair and the Split Rail Daybed)

You're priobably right, Lucifer
but it WOULD change the dymanic of knockoffs, instead of them chasing the same customers.
Some of the knockoffs like the Josef Hoffman Kubus chairs and sofas might seem like exclusives, because Whittman, the Austrian company that has the rights to these beautiful pieces, have no idea how to market themselves in the US...for all most know, there's such thing as an "authorised" maker of Hoffman furniture!
I have very few knockoffs in my house, mostly because I too believe in real orginals and authorized versions, etc.
What knockoffs I have? 1 48" black Nelson bench, a kite clock, a tourbine clock, a steering wheel clock, and an eye clock. That's it. (Oh, and as far as I can see, those Chinese knockoff Nelson clocks I have looks exactly like those made by Vitra...and let's face, the Vitra clocks are authorised knockoffs!)

After reading the latest postings
in the other Repro threads, I've come to the conclusion that (many of) the Chinese knockoffs factories are simply copy cats who don't understand the concept of producing an exclusive knockoff that scores of people would buy.
In terms of producing stuff that is no longer available from their legal sources, it's clear that these 'businessmen' are not smart enough to understand the potential market. Instead, they are counterfiters.
And, by the way, the Chinese better leave all wingdings and widgets alone.

Design Addict or Label Addict?
I agree with Barry. The Chinese are as legit as Vitra is when it comes to producing those clocks. Nelson never worked with either of them.
Want to know how much more "authentic" the Herman Miller Eames storage unit is than the ones made by Modernica? When Herman Miller reintroduced the units, they were actually manufactured by Modernica (which had been making them for several years already). Modernica affixed the HM / Eames tags, and drop shipped the storage units to Herman Miller dealers. Herman Miller was just re-labeling an existing knockoff.
As for that Barcelona chair that you can't afford... go ahead and buy one. They're ALL knockoffs! Almost every Knoll classic was originally manufactured by some other company. The only difference between the "real" one and a better knockoff is that Florence Knoll paid for the right to affix the Knoll label. If you love the label more than the design, then keep waiting.

Barry
So you'll gladly buy a "Chinese" knock-off clock, but not a Chinese widget? You make no sense... Unless, of course, you are joking.
If not, then go declare war on "the Chinese".
Have fun with that.
By the way, most US currency (i.e. credit) comes from "China".

Willfully Ignorant and Tiresome
What's most annoying about this ongoing discussion is the occasional person who jumps into the middle, willfully ignorant of the complexity of the subject and makes some grand sweeping, and usually erroneous, statement. Welcome to the discussion Poach.
Let me correct some of the broader errors in your last post:
No, Vitra hasn't worked with George Nelson on any of the clocks. They have worker with Jaqueline Nelson, George's wife, former member of Nelson Associates, and executor of the Nelson estate. Vitra produces the clocks to the specifications on original drawings and designs from the Nelson Office archives. These are the same drawings and specs that would have been provided to Howard Miller.
And yes, Herman Miller contracts out other companies to make different products - including, in the past, Modernica. But they weren't 'rebranding and existing knockoff' - they were hiring Modernica to make them. But now they dont contract Modernica, and like it or not that means Modernica's case goods are not technically ESUs. (I'm talking about legitimacy, not quality)
And the Knoll thing really bugs me. Because no - the Barcelona chair that is available today is not the same as the two made for the Barcelona Pavillion. But Knoll didnt make those changes - Mies did. Himself. In his lifetime. Not just "Florence Knoll buying the license" - Mies worked with Gratz Industries in NY (see this months Modernism) to develop a way of welding the steel to allow the pieces to be single formed instead of bolted. Gratz made the chairs for years....for KNOLL.
I'm not saying there aren't some grey areas in the whole field. Modernica has good quality, but really shitty designs of their own - proving that 'design' is more than just aping a form.
Vitra has made some changes that people don't approve of - like widening the base of the dowel and eiffel armchairs. But Herman Miller also made changes to the Aluminum group (adding another tine to the bases).
The point is, authenticity is a much more complex argument than just all or nothing, and it's tiresome when it is so completely oversimplified.

Luc...aren't some of the changes
made by Herman Miller, Knoll and, Fritz Hansen over the years improvements and/or refinments?
I have read that the updated Barcelona chair is more graceful and more in keeping to what Mies originally had in mind, but couldn't achieve that due to the available metalworking at the time.
I've also read that Herman Miller worked with Ray Eames right before her death on changing the plastic fiberglass material on the plastic chairs and she was involved with the new material.
I doubt any of these designers lived in a vacuum and when better technology made it possible to make changes, they would've been excited about it. Similarly, most designers would be pleased as punch to replace any materials that were environmentally unsafe or unsound (the latex foam Herman Miller and Knoll used, for example).
I don't think any of these companies have been dishonest in regard to maintaining the best most up-to-date manufacturing methods for producing furniture that continues to sell to new generations.
Remember, though, what Eva Zeisel said about her patterned "Tomorrow's Classic" dinnerware; 'When in doubt, buy white'..which translates to "If in doubt about new methods of manufacturing classic furniture, buy vintage originals"!

I wasn't there
when she said it, but. . .
Remember, though, what Eva Zeisel said about her patterned "Tomorrow's Classic" dinnerware; 'When in doubt, buy white'..which translates to "If in doubt about new methods of manufacturing classic furniture, buy vintage originals"!
. . .maybe she meant "if you don't like the patterns they made me put on these (and I don't really, either) then buy the plain ones "?
or
"When in doubt about any color or pattern, remember that the perfect default color is. . .plain white -- just as it has been for at least a century !"

More annoyance and ignorance
Yeah, I did jump in unbidden. Thought it was an open forum.
I fully agree that Modernica's original designs suck. My point on the ESU was that Modernica had already been producing it for some time before HM contracted them. One day, it's a knockoff, the next it's authentic. No change in manufacturer, materials, manufacturing process... just the addition of the label. I'm not saying that the Modernica piece was then or is now authentic; just that I don't think the addition of the HM badge and the blessing of Mr. Demetrios makes it so.
And yes, Jackie Nelson does have the legal right to license the Nelson name. But let's be honest... she's not the designer, and Vitra wasn't the producer in George's lifetime.
I also take issue with Vitra's claim of faithfulness to the originals. None of the Vitra clocks is produced with the original woods (birch and walnut). The colors are significantly skewed from the originals. The second hands are arbitrarily assigned to certain models and not to others. I was told apocryphally that it depends on whether or not the original in Fehlbaum's collection retains its second hand.
So what's the litmus test for authenticity? Vitra's Eames plastic chairs are authorized by the Eames estate, and distributed by Herman Miller... but what an awful piece of crap. I wouldn't have one in my house if it were given to me. In my opinion (and that's all it is) the Modernica knockoff with the correct geometry and real fiberglass if far more authentic.

Poach
I was dubious about the 'new plastic' Eames chairs, which were done fully with Ray Eames' involvement towards the end of her life (due to the fact that fiberglass could no longer be used).
I saw the Herman Miller side chairs with the Eiffel base at DWR and thought they were very well made.
I then bid on and won a Vitra version sold on eBay by a guy in Miami (he had had 4 of 'em in robin's egg blue).
I bought one of them (to go with my original Nelson Typewriting Stand/desk) and, lo and behold, it's very well made and totally appropriate along side the little desk.
I don't have an original fiberglass Eames shell chair in my living room (indeed, none in the house).
Considering the fact that neither Herman Miller or Vitra wouyld continue to made the non-environmentally friendly fiberglass shells anymore, what they did come up with is a very reasonable and good looking alternative.
My comment twisted from the Eva Zeisel comments was meant to say; If you want original, but the vintage version.
I was dubious about these new Eames shells, but I sure like mine!

Open Forum
My point wasnt about the forum being open or not, it was about the manner in which you jumped in - guns blazing and opinions crisply black and white. The topic is more complex.
To say that Modernica makes "authentic" fiberglass chairs is to totally ignore HOW the Eames worked. They were constantly making improvements to their products, and I have no doubt that they would have reached the decision to use a different plastic material (as they did in the EA 127 chair) for the chair shells instead of fiberglass.
I have never heard that Modernica was making the cases before HM contracted them...it's counterintuitive that HM would reach out to a knock-off company for legit construction. But either way - while under contract with Herman Miller Modernica had to produce the pieces in strict configurations, and not modify any of the materials. What they did before and after is irrelevant - during that time period they made legit pieces.
And, for the record, George didnt design the clocks himself. People on his staff did.