1970s Black & White Desk Lamp

1970s black & white desk lamp flat round iron base & rod metal lampshade Brilliant Leuchten Germany 1980s

Similar beige desk lamp, also on Vintageinfo

Materials: White painted metal flat round base. Black painted flat metal rod. White painted round metal lampshade. All made in iron. Plastic diffuser ring in the lampshade. Some plastic parts. Porcelain socket.

Height: 32 cm / 12.59”

Base: ∅ 15 cm / 5.90”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1970s, 1980s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Brilliant AG, Brilliantstraße 1, D-27442 Gnarrenburg, Germany.

Other versions: This 1970s black & white desk lamp exists in many colours. Several different lamps were produced, all with the same almost flat base but with another lampshade.

In The Netherlands these desk lamps were sold by Vrieland Design a company active in the 70s and 80s. Also Herda Verlichting BV from Amsterdam had these lamps in the assortment. In Spain it was Fase. Massive sold them in Belgium and some other European countries.

VLM Components

All the electric parts were made by VLM Components from Buccinasco near Milan in Italy.

VLM Components was founded in1945 in Buccinasco, a small village near Milan, Italy. VLM is part of the Relco Group, founded in 1967. Today they are the owners of the brands Relco, Leuci, Relco Lighting, VLM and Segno.

Brillantleuchten

Brilliant AG was founded in 1951 as Brillantglashütte oHG / Lippold und Tschammer in Gnarrenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company originally operated as a glass factory, producing hand-blown lighting glass for light bulbs, using local peat and quartz sand as raw materials.

In 1953, the glassworks began producing glass pendant bowls, marking the first step towards the manufacturing of complete lighting fixtures. During the 1960s, the product range expanded and materials such as wood, metal, and plastic were introduced alongside glass.

In the 1970s, the company increasingly focused on the finishing and assembly of luminaires using externally sourced components. To accommodate this shift, the industrial glass production facility was sold, and the company was renamed Brillantleuchten AG.

During the 1980s, Brillantleuchten AG moved further away from glass production and specialised in spotlights and metal pendant lamps. In 1985, the (then still family-owned) company was listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Bremen.

In 1991, as part of its international expansion, the company adopted its final name: Brilliant AG. The word “Leuchten” was dropped and a second “i” was added to the brand name. Between 1994 and 1997, the Brilliant Industrial Park was developed in Gnarrenburg, including new warehouse buildings and a high-bay warehouse. By the late 1990s, exports accounted for almost 50% of total turnover.

In the 2000s, increasing international competition and price pressure led to the relocation of production abroad. Sales, administration, design, and logistics remained based in Gnarrenburg. On 24 September 2004, the British group The National Lighting Company Ltd became the main shareholder. This transition enabled a successful restructuring, and in 2006Brilliant AG returned to profitability.