Of the many thousands of models of office chairs that have been marketed over the years, the vast majority have a limited life span of maybe ten years or less, before they fade into oblivion.
Happily, a select few possess unique or outstanding design features, that give them a timeless quality making them highly desirable and go on to become classic office chairs. This is something that is constantly evolving, so even a relative newcomer like the Aeron can be considered a classic model at barely 13 years old.
The majority of the classics tend to be at least twenty years or more old. Some classics unfortunately cease to be made and become rare models that exchange hands for high prices to collectors.
These chairs are extremely difficult to obtain and are mainly in museums or the hands of collectors, so it’s unlikely that you would ever be able to own a good example due to their scarcity and very high price.
So, we’re going to concentrate on products that are still in production. That way if you really like a particular model at least you know you’ll be able to get your hands on one of these masterpieces of office seating.
Certain names tend to crop up very frequently in the classic chair world. People like Charles and Ray Eames, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Arne Jacobson to name but a few.
And this isn’t surprising as they have all been associated with true seating icons that stand the test of time and can truly be considered design classics.
Fortunately, a lot of the best designs continue to be made today which allows a new generation of chair users to own and appreciate the qualities and aesthetics of these seating jewels.
We will be adding more reviews of these classic office chairs over the coming weeks. So let’s begin with a look at Charles and Ray Eames Aluminum Group first introduced in 1958.