Sorry SOLD for SIGNIFICANTLY MORE than our reserve price.

OFFERS OVER $1350 PER CHAIR. OFFERS OVER $2700 FOR BOTH chairs will take precedence of offers over $1350 for just one. Offers over $4895 for the FULL 3-piece suite will be given precedence over all other offers. A separate listing for just the 3-seater sofa appears in our NEWLY LISTED Category.

SORRY SOLD! Price will not be disclosed for several years. SOLD FOR SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE RESERVE PRICE!

SOLD from our NORTH BRISBANE depot in Morayfield. Delivery Australia-wide is possible for a very reasonable additional fee. APPROX $240 to freight BOTH chairs to Sydney as an example (via specialist.

Full Retail Price NEW of Full Suite from Tessa (now defunct) in FULL-GRAIN LEATHER- approx AU $15,000! The sled-based sofas are not easy to get and much nicer than the other ones. This suite was made in the late-1980’s.

(IMPORTANT NOTE- This suite is in the ORIGINAL FULL-GRAIN leather (from the late-1980’s). Top-Grain Leather is heavily processed and inferior. DON’T be deceived! FULL-GRAIN leather is the ONLY leather where the FULL-hide has been retained and has had virtually no processing. Top-Grain leather is the TOP-GRAIN only- all the underside has been split off (to make those really cheap, nasty leathers). The TOP ONLY is left- it’s the thin modern-day CHEAP alternative that first came into existence when Chinese furniture started taking over the Australian market (around the late-1980’s). TOP-GRAIN leather is susceptible to splits, rips, deep cracks and splitting at the seams. If you see leather that has ripped it’s virtually always TOP-GRAIN leather- it’s worth LESS than HALF the price of full-grain leather.)

Background Info and Provenance

(This description was updated in Dec 2020)

This is arguably the most sought-after chair to ever come out of Australia. The Contour range by Grant Featherston is probably the most collectable in terms of dollar-value, but this design, the T21 Delmont swivel chair, released by Tessa in the early 1970’s is, in my experience, the most asked-for chair (written in 2020). The value of T21 (and Delmont) furniture has sky-rocketed during COVID-19 lockdowns- the popularity has increased (and very noticeably) since the last Delmont suite I sold (back in March 2020 just before the first lockdown). This design is technically not the T21 design but the Delmont. The Delmont design is less known only because there are so few around. After 20-years in this business, this is the second time I’ve had Tessa Delmont chairs. I completely understand why so many people want them. The quality just jumps out at you and the comfort … OMG … after sitting in one of these chairs I didn’t want to get up! But alas I had to get to work photographing these, cleaning and conditioning the leather for our customer.

The only real difference I can see between the Tessa Delmont and the T21 is a refinement on the T21. The exposed timber runs up the entire side of the chair creating a classier look, the cushions have been streamlined and the armrest protectors have been markedly improved (or in this case never put on at all). I don’t like the armrest protectors on the T21 design and in fact, I take them off whenever possible.

After a 50-year stint in the Australian Marketplace, making virtually ALL their furniture in AUSTRALIA, Tessa Furniture died late in 2019. It’s a sorry state of affairs when an Australian business can no longer do what they do so well because of cheap imports destined to end up as landfill. And this is the very reason why Tessa eventually died. Their designs are so well-made that the second-hand market for Tessa pieces ended up becoming more sought-after than new Tessa Furniture. And who can blame people going straight to the second-hand market for designs such as these? The QUALITY of these chairs is so exceptional that second-hand ones often still look basically new after 10, 20, 30, even 40 years of use. In this listing you’re getting chairs that looks close to new but they’re about one third the price of new ones.

Today in 2020, I believe this chair- the T21 Delmont swivel chair- by Tessa, is THE best investment in the furniture marketplace. EVERYONE seems to want T21’s at the moment, they are NO LONGER in production so more people will hang onto theirs for a lifetime of enjoyment and less and less will be coming onto the secondary market. T21 chairs retailed NEW in FULL-GRAIN leather for about $4400 EACH just before Tessa went under- at my price (not much more than ONE QUARTER retail) it should be obvious to anybody that the only way the value of these chairs can go, is up.

This pair is about as good as you can get. The leather is neutral in colour which really suits the boldness of this design- it helps rein it back a notch. Additionally, you have to be careful buying Tessa Furniture. Tessa went through a stage (I believe from about 1995 to 2010) when cheaper leathers were used. I recently saw a second-hand Tessa T21 chair being sold online upholstered with cheaper leather. The back-headrest leather had completely cracked through and a seam had ripped apart- other cracking will be inevitable if you buy a Tessa chair in a cheaper leather. Some of these cheaper “leathers” can disintegrate completely within 10 years. This pair is upholstered in quality FULL-GRAIN leather (it’s likely to be Howe Leather- a premium Australian leather). FULL-GRAIN leather is infinitely better in quality compared to TOP-GRAIN leathers (or in the newer Tessa releases where the leather-type hasn’t be disclosed at all). FULL-GRAIN leather is the FULL LEATHER HIDE- it has been processed a LOT LESS and if you clean your furniture after heavy use and condition it 3 or 4 times each year full-grain leather usually lasts 50 years (but often much longer- I’ve sold many leather lounge suites in the past that were 60 years old and had nothing wrong with the leather at all). Pigmented FULL-GRAIN leather (like this) is the best leather you can buy and the most durable. TOP-GRAIN leather is NOT the best leather you can buy- it can’t (and never will) last as long as full-grain leather.

This pair of chairs is about 30 years old and look at them! No guessing the quality here. After much of the world’s furniture ends up as landfill, these chairs will be passed onto another user and eventually a whole new generation. Now that no Tessa Furniture is made anymore, I can’t see any reason why this design (made in AUSTRALIA) won’t slowly increase to the value they were selling for new (ie. $4400 EACH). There’s no better way I can think of to invest in your home, the future of our environment and our local community.

2002