Description

This set of 4 chairs SOLD for $500 way back in 2004. Today in 2019 I’d price this exact same set of 4 chairs at around $2400. I’d price a set of 6 like this at over $4000.

Provenance and Background Info

Quick Description written in 2019 (I can’t find the description I wrote in 2004).

A set of 4 leather chairs made by Arben Arrben of Italy. These are premium quality and extremely comfortable for a dining chair. They’re top of the range and bound to impress. The comfort is incredible. Obviously great proportions and the back in particular seems to hug you. I also love the minimalist flowing style.

The saddle leather is FULL-GRAIN and the highest quality- thick and very resilient- this leather would retail for about AU$300 a square metre (probably more). I’ve seen these chairs sell off 1stdibs in the past for AU $1000 PER CHAIR. I had a quick look just then and could find no Arrben chairs in this style for sale on 1stdibs right now. Recent replicas use cheap leathers which crack on the backs after several years and end up in landfill (you have to ask yourself the point of spending about $400 each on these replicas). Others use vinyl / plastic covering but a lot of the appeal of these chairs is the craftsmanship (particularly the hand-stitching of thick leather).

This set were about 25 years old when we sold them back in 2004. When chairs look like this after this much use you’ve got full assurance of the quality you’re buying and when a 40-year-old design stills still packs a punch today there’s no better assurance of the timelessness of this style. This is design genius and proves that good design never goes out of style. There are very few better ways to invest in your home financially- this design is a very solid investment and should at least increase in value along with inflation in coming years. Finally there’s no better way to reduce your carbon footprint than to invest in quality vintage design.