Replica Barcelona Chair - Quality Trade Offs

In the vast world of reproduction barcelona style chairs there are a great many trade offs that a buyer might choose to make.

Some of them are design trade offs, many are quality trade offs, and a few compromise little but the right to the name, and the signature on the frame.

Design Trade Offs:

Many reproductions vary the design slightly. This may be because they genuinely feel their alterations are an improvement, or because they are assuming that variation will protect them from 'trade dress' litigation, or maybe just because the skill sets and technologies they have available to them differ slightly.

But given that we are discussing chairs that mostly preserve the principle characteristics of the design, there are only a few valid design variations to consider:

The angel of the seat: Many manufacturers reduce the angle of the seat, saying that it is difficult to get out of a chair with such an acutely angeled seat, where one sits with one's knees so much higher than ones seat.

The width of the steel bars used to make the frame: I've seen several manufacturers use slightly wider steel bars.

Chrome vs Steel - This is not a quality issue because you get fabulous chrome and wonderful polished steel.

But rather it is a very subjective choice: Either you like the hard look of polished stainless steel or the soft liquid appearance of a chromed finish

Variations in the dimensions of the frame and cusions. Standard dimensions are approximately W30 x D32 x H33 inches; Seat Height 16 inches. But I've seen some that make the chair narrower or shallower to save on mateirals no doubt.

The Height of the cushion relative to the height of the back of the top edge of the frame. Purists believe that the top edge of the cushion should be no more than a half inch or so higher than the top of the back of the frame.

Button Size varies from one manufacturer to the next. I'm not sure if there is a standard as such but most of the buttons seem to be roughly dime sized, although i have seem 1" diameter buttons also.

Somewhere between Design and Quality:

Visible seams on the front edges of the seat cushion and top edges of the back cushion: Its cheaper and easier to produce a cushion with the visible seems because you don't need to use such a long complete piece of leather to do it.

Thickness of the cushions: 4" is standard. More looks ineligant, and less looks mean.

Closures / Fasteners: Traditionally this should be buckles under the seat, and poppers behind the back cushion, but there has been a lot of variation over the years even in the knoll products, so the quality of the fasteners themselves should be the priority, over what type of fastener is used.

Quality Compromises:

Full tufting of all appropriate seems: Some cheaper versions of the chair take a startling short cut, replacing the tufted patchwork seams (piped seems with rope inside to help them hold their shape) with ordinary sewn patchwork, or cheaper still, single peices of leather that are over stitched to make them look vaguely like they have been sewn together.

Poor steel quality is a common cost cutting device. Unfortunately this one is difficult to identify with the naked eye. The results can be oxidization of the metal, or even rust. In a few extreme cases I've seen such frames bend under a couple of hundred pounds of weight.

Low quality chrome - cost cutting by using the wrong metal as the foundation for the chroming, or by doing fewer layers of chrome.

Screws vs Rivets: We are referring to the screws / rivets that afix the straps to the frame.

If done well there should be little if any difference in the seat initially but I've found that rivets tend to hold better over time. The leather will stretch eventually in either case, but screws sometimes produce a stretched whole in the leather, where they are inserted through it, and this wont happen with rivets.

If the strap breaks you will probably have to send the frame in for repairs anyway... you would not be able to get the strap tight enough if you replaced it yourself... and a workshop with experience doing that should not have any trouble with the rivets anyway.

Leather quality: Pool quality leather doesn't last as long (it can split and crack), it doesn' feel right to the touch and it often doesn't fold around the cushions elegantly.

Foam quality: Poor quality foam doesn't last as long and can create an uncomfortable seat.

Air vent under the seat cushion. Some manufactures skimp on stype where they feel that its hidden. The vent under the seat is necessary so that the cushion cover doesn't balloon and split under the weight of the occupant. It allows air out under a little pressure, and then allows it back in so that the cushions shape is retained. The material used in this vent varies and so does the attention to detail of the seems and finishes around the vent panel.