Vintage Furniture – Real or Fake? Corbusier’s Grand Confort LC Series August 28, 2008
Posted by jetsetrnv8r in Furniture Collecting.Tags: barcelona chair, cassina, collecting vintage furniture, corbusier lc2 chair, corbusier lc3 chair, Eames lounge 670, Grand Confort, le corbusier, noguchi coffee table, Petite Confort, real or fake
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Interest in vintage furniture is at an all time high with shows and auctions commanding top-dollar for your grandmother’s tired old Danish modern dining set. Scores of national chain retailers such as Design Within Reach, Modernica and Room & Board offer good replicas of many pieces, or contemporary licensed “originals”. But when buying vintage – whether from a dealer or an individual – how do you know you’re getting an authentic piece? A trained eye knows how to spot the details.
Le Corbusier LC2 chair
If you’re buying new, there’s only one source for an original – Cassina. They’ve held the exclusive worldwide rights since 1964, granted by the Fondation Le Corbusier. Cassina has their own stores in select cities and sell through other retailers everywhere. So if you want the real thing, just ask if it’s made by Cassina and check the tag and paperwork that comes with it. But if you’re buying vintage, know what to look for and never take the dealer’s word for it – it’s amazing how often they’re wrong.
Here are my rules for buying a vintage Corbusier LC series chair:
Rule 1: If it’s cheap, it’s fake. An authentic LC2 or LC3 Grand Confort chair starts at $3,200 new and prices range from $2,000 and up for good vintage pieces. If you think you’re getting a bargain for much less than that, the joke’s on you.
Rule 2: Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s real. There are a lot of good fakes – some are even better-made than the real thing – but they are not going to retain their value like the real thing. And ignorant (or ambitious) sellers can ask outrageous prices.
Rule 3: Know where to find the serial number. On Le Corbusier’s LC2 and LC3 chairs, feel under the upper-most chrome bar on the left arm of the chair. Authentic chairs have a serial number etched into the chrome – you can feel the bumps with your fingers. On some vintage pieces, the placement of the serial number may vary – sometimes it’s behind the backrest or on the right arm bar – but most years it was on the left side.
From the Cassina website: “According to the designer’s heirs “all pieces of furniture which do not bear the logotype Cassina, the signature of Le Corbusier and the production number are counterfeits”. All authentic Le Corbusier furniture is indelibly marked with the indicia shown below.”
A great side-by-side analysis of the real thing vs. a knock-off can be seen here.
If you can’t afford the real thing but want a good fake, look at the weld seams and the legs. The legs should end cleanly with a chrome end-piece – not with a rubber cap and not with tapered ends.
Learn about how to tell a real Eames Lounge Chair 670 and Ottoman 671 here. And in future postings, I will write about Mies van der Rohe’s “Barcelona” chair and ottoman, Noguchi’s coffee table, Arne Jacobsen’s “Egg” and “Swan” chairs, and other iconic – and often imitated pieces.
Read about recent sale prices at auction here. And don’t miss the smart way to buy quality furniture whether your buying for yourself or staging a house for sale here.
I am selling 6 dark gray Pace dining chairs purchased in 1980…they are in excellent vintage condition. Any interest or can you recommend how I can get the best price for these chairs? They are definitely authentic.
Hello Marcia – Magnificent chairs! Would love to see a picture. In any case, I assume you’ve done your research to find out what similar chairs are selling for. I’m seeing them advertised at anywhere from $800 to $1,500 each. Scan all the online vintage dealers you can find (many are listed at right). Email them a photo and ask their opinions – or ask if they’d be interested in purchasing them. Just keep in mind if you sell to a dealer, they’ll only pay you the wholesale value so they can make their profit. It’s harder for a private seller to get full retail because buyers paying full price are willing to do so from a dealer they trust – not from a private seller they don’t know. The other option is to sell them through an auction house like Wright20 or L.A. Modern Auctions (links at right). You’ll have to pay them a commission of up to 20% but the auction process can often drive the price up enough to cover that and still give you a good price. And if they don’t get your reserve price, you can pass. Then there’s always Craigslist and eBay. Just be careful of scam artists lurking on Craigslist who want to pay with phony cashiers checks – insist on cash. Keep us posted and let me know how you do.
Just back from a trip…thank you so much for your advice! My son in California was about to sell the chairs on Ebay with no knowledge of their value. I insisted on having them shipped to me because I love the chairs (after a divorce, his dad sent them out to LA and stored them!) Dad died so I’m taking them back. I am willing to sell them but not for give-away price. So, thank you again for your information and I will let you know how I do. Marcia Lohner 630-654-0464
I need an email address to send the photo attachment, don’t I?
Thanks for the great advice. I’m thinking about buying a Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge chair at a vintage shop for about $700. Something about the price seems strange. Like your advice for step one, If it’s cheap, it’s fake. Does this price seem cheap? Do you have any recommendations or hints for spotting if it’s a fake or not?
Thanks again for the great post!
i have just bought x2 2 seater le corbusier cassina lc3 sofas
plus also x1 chair secondhand for £600!!!
also included in the sale was an lc10 coffee table,
serial number 01055
can anyone tell me any info on the serial numbers ie.
year made etc?
08666 2 seater
08692 ”
08709 chair
kind regards
roger