How the Iconic $10K Eames Lounge Chair Is Made in America | WSJ Coveted

TL;DR

The Eames Lounge Chair costs up to $10,000 because its multi-day handcrafted production uses premium leather, pressed wood veneers, and rigorous 100,000-cycle testing.

Key Points

• 1.The Eames Lounge Chair ranges from $5,600 to $10,000 depending on materials. One full hide of leather is used per chair, workers inspect each hide for scars, and the multi-day production involves numerous skilled craftspeople contributing distinct expertise.
• 2.The chair is produced at Herman Miller's American factory with walnut, Santos, and cherry wood veneers. Loose veneer sheets are glued and pressed in a heated mold to form the iconic shape — the pressing stage is cited as the easiest step to make a mistake.
• 3.Quality testing is exhaustive, simulating a decade of real-world use. The swivel base is rotated 120,000 times, upholstery endures 100,000 sit-down cycles running 24/7 for about a week, continuing a testing philosophy Ray and Charles Eames established from the beginning.
• 4.Charles and Ray Eames launched the chair on a TV equivalent of the Today Show in 1956. Charles was trained as an architect, Ray was a painter and dancer, and they built a homemade plywood-bending machine called the 'Kazam' in their Los Angeles apartment to develop it.
• 5.Knockoffs are widespread, but authentic chairs carry a Herman Miller badge on the underside. Herman Miller holds the trademark on the Eames name; production is higher than ever with a chair coming off the line every 33 minutes due to rising demand and improved technology.