Design originals – often imitated, never duplicated

Our Tolomeo desk lamp is probably not only our most famous design classic, but also the one that is imitated most. Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina developed the Tolomeo in 1987. For more than 30 years, thus iconic light is one of the best selling products on the design market. Such huge success attracts imitators of its form and so over the years many similar looking lights have been produced but they have never been able to match the quality, functionality and ingenuity of the original.

This is why in 2020 we took part in a major campaign initiated by the long-established German company Gira under the slogan “Often imitated, never duplicated” to champion the value of genuine design classics. With Gira and six other leading design brands – COR, HEWI, Thonet, USM, Dornbracht and Walter Knoll – we are going on the offensive and raising public awareness about the value of true design originals.

The numerous rip-offs swamping the furniture market not only damage the originals’ designers and manufacturers, but also the customers who are inevitably disappointed by copycat products. This is because the similarity to prestigious design icons is purely superficial: in terms of finish, functionality, durability, service and guarantees, no copy can touch the original. Behind a high-tech iconic light such as the Tolomeo, for example, lie a great deal of knowhow and many years of development work. Nothing is down to chance or superfluous. Every tiny detail is hugely significant.

An original always stands for clear value retention that is reflected in high-quality, ground-breaking functionality and desirable styling and colours. These are values that copies can never attain because they do not go through the complex process that starts with the idea behind an innovation, turning into a production-ready, marketable product, and ends with the finishing touches, as is typical for the development of a premium product. The focus with copies is primarily on keeping costs down.

And the Tolomeo was not just about a good idea. According to Michele De Lucchi: “Although the concept was right, we worked hard to get to the heart of the flawless mechanism from both a mechanical and aesthetic perspective.”