Artemide: the Italian lighting brand of Tizio, Tolomeo and Eclisse
Artemide has produced some of the most recognised Italian lighting of the past 60 years. The Tizio task lamp, the Tolomeo, the Eclisse and the Atollo are all Artemide. Here's the short story.
Artemide is the Italian lighting brand behind the Tizio, the Tolomeo and the Eclisse, and buying it secondhand on Whoppah is one of the cleanest value swaps in design. The aerospace engineer Ernesto Gismondi founded it in 1959 in Pregnana Milanese with Sergio Mazza, and that combination of engineering mind and designer's eye still shapes the catalogue. A vintage 1990s Tolomeo desk lamp sells here at €120 to €280 against roughly €350 new, the Eclisse at €200 to €500, the Tizio at €350 to €700 and the Atollo at €700 to €1,500. The Tizio and Tolomeo are among the most actively traded Italian lighting designs here, with strong demand across all 16 of our markets.
Artemide was founded in 1959 in Pregnana Milanese, just outside Milan, by Ernesto Gismondi (an aerospace engineer) and Sergio Mazza. The combination of an engineering mind and a designer's eye shaped what Artemide became: a lighting company that solves structural problems with elegance.
The early years of Artemide produced two of the most influential pieces of Italian lighting. The Eclisse (Vico Magistretti, 1965), a hemispherical table lamp with an inner moveable shade that "eclipses" the bulb, won the Compasso d'Oro in 1967. The Tolomeo (Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, 1987), the articulated arm task lamp with the specific brushed-aluminium finish, has been in continuous production for almost 40 years and is the desk lamp on more architects' tables than any other piece.
The Tizio (Richard Sapper, 1972) is the most engineering-driven design in the catalogue. Counter-balanced arms, no springs or cables visible, power flows through the metal arms themselves. The Tizio looks like a piece of laboratory equipment and works like one.
The Atollo (Vico Magistretti, 1977), the conical-shade table lamp that won the Compasso d'Oro in 1979, is the iconic Artemide statement piece.
How do you recognise an authentic Artemide lamp?
What to look for on the secondhand market: authentic Artemide production carries the Artemide stamp or label, usually on the metal base or on the mounting hardware. The Tolomeo has an Artemide label on the underside of the base; the Tizio has Artemide branding on the metal arm or the base; the Eclisse has Artemide marking on the inside of the inner shade.
What does a used Artemide Tolomeo or Tizio cost on Whoppah?
Vintage Artemide Tolomeo desk lamps from the 1990s sell on Whoppah at €120 to €280; current Artemide retail is around €350. The Eclisse runs €200 to €500 used. The Atollo sits at €700 to €1,500 in vintage condition. The Tizio is in a slightly different category, with vintage examples at €350 to €700.
