ARCmotiv Modern Furniture

Harry Bertoia’s 1950 experiment with bending metal rods into practical art produced a revered collection of seating, including the exquisite Large Diamond chair. Innovative, comfortable and strikingly handsome, the chair’s delicate filigree appearance belies its strength and durability. In Bertoia’s own words, “If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes through them.” The chair is offered with a full cover and glides.

A classic, modern design that enhances any environment, sculptor Harry Bertoia's Diamond Lounge chair remains a fascinating study in bent metal and a fixture of mid-century design.

• Welded steel with rods in polished or satin chrome finish or bonded rilsan, a very durable and adhesive fused nylon-dipped finish.
• Scratch, chip, and chemical resistant.
• Stainless steel connections.
• Four plastic glides.
• On all Diamond chairs, the base wire diameter measures 11 mm. The frame edge wire diameter measures 4.5 mm, the interlacements measure 4 mm in diameter.

• Cushion secured to chair with lock-snaps.
• Cushions and covers fit all Bertoia Diamond Chairs manufactured since 1952 within a limited range of tolerance.

• With proper care and limited exposure to the elements, the 421 Bertoia Diamond Chair is appropriate for outdoor environments. Specify Black or White Rislan and vinyl seat cushion only.

Italian sculptor, university lecturer and furniture designer Harry Bertoia displayed a unique stroke of genius with his patented Diamond Chair for Knoll International in 1952. Bertoia was an inventor of form and an enricher of furniture design with his introduction of a new material: he turned industrial wire rods into a design icon. Educated at Detroit Technical High School, the Detroit School of Arts and Crafts and Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Bertoia taught metal crafts at Cranbrook. He worked with Charles Eames to develop his signature molded plywood chairs. Eero Saarinen commissioned him to design a metal sculptured screen for the General Motors Technical Center in Detroit. His awards include the craftsmanship medal from the American Institute of Architects, as well as AIA’s Gold Medal.

• Limit 5
• Polished Chrome
• Seat Cushions with the following in-stock KnollTextiles
  
  • Grade A Common Ground
  • Grade A Mariner
  • Grade B Classic Boucle
  • Grade B Ingot
  • Grade B Vinyl
  • Grade G Ultrasuede
  • Grade U Volo (Black and Toast)

Standard Leadtime for configurations not on Quickship is 8-12 Weeks