Daphine Table Lamp

Overview

The Daphine table lamp is credited to Tommaso Cimini; Lumina credits it to Tommaso Cimini, 1976; its first lamp dates from 1975, made in a small workshop in Sedriano (Milan province). Lumina calls it an undisputed emblem of elegance and functionality and says it represents the essence of Lumina. It springs, the page says, from Cimini's design philosophy "Lots of light, not much lamp".

Construction

The page describes a pivoting diffuser, a two-segment articulated arm and an electromechanical transformer in the cylindrical base. The datasheet describes a table lamp in aluminium and steel with 2 swivelling arms and a 360-degree rotating head, for diffused directional light. The LED version, code 01L, has a switch on the base that can be set to dual light intensity or dimmer; the page also lists a classic halogen version for the European market only.

Specifications

• Drawing (cm): 35 and 40 for the two arm segments, 8 for the head, 10 and 11 at the base unit, 300 for the cable to the power supply; angles 80°, 270°, 200° and 360°
• Light source: 9 W discrete LED, 12 W power absorption, CRI 97, 2700 K or 3000 K, source flux 775 / 800 lm, emitted flux 622 / 643 lm, lifetime >55000 h
• Electrical: mains 100/240 VAC, master output 24 VDC; insulation class III; CE, UK CA and ETL listed
• Finishes: Black Soft Touch, Black Classic, Matt White, Matt Red, Matt Yellow, Metallic Bronze, Brushed Nickel, Brushed Gold

A workshop in Sedriano

Lumina's page says the Daphine first "saw the light" in 1975 in a small workshop in Sedriano (Milan province), thanks to Tommaso Cimini, a mechanical engineering expert, and the machines he had retooled for the purpose. It adds that Lumina is the company he set up in 1980, and that the Daphine's aesthetic and functionality are unchanged 45 years on.

Uses and museums

Among the places of use the page names library reading desks, pianos, jewellery counters and fashion shop windows. Museums with the Daphine in their collections, according to Lumina, include the Triennale in Milan, the Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and the Brooklyn Museum and the Judd Foundation in New York.