Description

The set was priced for a quick sale and sold in 2 months for $6800 for all 8 back in 2016. Today in 2019 if I got the exact same set of chairs I’d price them at $8600. I have had various enquiries from people wanting to buy Cab chairs but they rarely come up.

Provenance and Background Info

This description was written in 2016.

A set of 8 Cassina Cab chairs designed by architect, Mario Bellini in 1977. The Cab chair remains one of Cassina’s best-sellers and is part of the collection at the MoMA (museum) in New York. In Australia the Cab chair is stocked by SPACE Furniture and retail in excess of $2200 PER CHAIR.

I have to admit it has taken me some time to comprehend the value of the Cab chair. I remember being in a Sydney auction centre back in 2005 (when I’d still only really experienced life in the outer suburbs of Brisbane) watching in amazement as a well-known dealer kept bidding until a set of 6 of Cab chairs in black went to $6000. I couldn’t fathom how he could be on-selling them for more. These days I don’t doubt he had a client directly lined up but it was an eye-opener for me at the time.

I now completely comprehend the appeal these days and confidently know the chairs on offer here are significantly under-priced. I’ve seen second-hand Cab chairs CONSISTENTLY sell for around $1000-$1100 per chair but after experiencing the Cab chair close-up I also understand why the Cab chair is so valued. The skeleton of the chair is steel (virtually indestructible)- the covering is stitched SADDLE leather- EXTREMELY resilient. I cleaned these chairs and have to admit it was a pleasure. I know that sounds ridiculous but it allowed me to become very intimate with the chairs and yes that sounds even more laughable! I was astounded by how easy they were to polish up. The set came in with a decent number of scuffs, marks and signs of use but nearly all have polished out. There were some that I was in disbelief over when the chairs had come into contact with other things and it was the other item that came off second best. The saddle leather is FULL-GRAIN and the highest quality- super thick but soft- the leather itself would retail for about AU$300 a square metre (probably more). I estimate each chair would need about 2 sqm so that’s AU$600 just for the leather. It becomes plainly obviously why second-hand Cab chairs cost around AU$1100 each in Australia- that’s about how much it would cost to make them. And this is where the recent replicas come unstuck- they use cheap leathers that crack on the backs after several years and end up in landfill (you have to ask yourself what the point of spending $400 on each of these chairs is). Others use vinyl / plastic covering but really if you want plastic chairs buy the injected moulded ones. They’ll not only look more eye-catching but they’ll be much cheaper. What is the point of all this expert workmanship if you’re wasting it on cheap materials?

These chairs are top of the range and a joy to experience (and even get intimate!). The comfort is incredible. Obviously great proportions and the back in particular flexes to the shape of your body which is unusual in a dining chair (but helps create an extremely comfortable chair).

There’s obvious investment appeal with these and the colour is part of this. Ivory is brilliant in my eyes- it looks stunning paired with an oak table (see the Cassina web-site) and earthy objects can then be introduced into the space. The ivory also softens the design. The black ones look amazing but I think they’re very bold which limits your ability to use them in a space- they’ll demand a lot of attention. (Not good in a small apartment.)

I’d say this particular set is about 20-25 years old. 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 (and is still in production today) there’s no better assurance of the timelessness of the design. This is pure design genius and proves that good design never goes out of style. There are very few better ways to invest in your home financially (good vintage design often increases in value over time)- you’re also reducing your carbon footprint. It’s win – win all round!