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From Las Vegas to the pages of Interior Design: the Ester chair by Pedrali, design Patrick Jouin

Pedrali

Patrick Jouin

Ester An icon of Italian design Task chair

Shipping Country Quantity

$ 6,098

What did you have in mind?

Trade terms for professionals and design studios

Pedrali lists Lago by Julian Serrano in Las Vegas among the rooms where Ester works, and Interior Design ran the chair in November 2022. Both are worth more than a rendering: a restaurant floor in Nevada turns its seats over several times a night, and a magazine that specifies for American offices does not publish a chair it expects to see reupholstered in a year. What holds up in that traffic is ordinary engineering — a steel inner frame carrying elastic belts, flexible polyurethane molded over it at 3.7 lb/ft³, class 1 IM for reaction to fire, then fabric.

For the boardroom the family gives you two conference chairs on die-cast aluminum legs: the 690 armchair, 26.2 in wide, seat height 18.3 in, and the 691 side chair at 18.9 in and 15.4 lb. The same shell then takes a gas-lift swivel base with casters for the private office, a tapered steel stool in two seat heights, and the lounge chair with the pouf for reception. Fabrics come from a catalogue Pedrali publishes separately for the United States, so the reference numbers a European drawing carries do not always exist here. La Mercanti checks the category against the US card before we confirm anything. The shell stays put across the whole family — what moves is the base under it, and with it the room: legs at the table, a gas column at the desk, steel tube at the counter, a low frame in the lounge.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Ester, design Patrick Jouin
Manufacturer: Pedrali, Italy
Seat and back: steel inner structure with elastic belts; molded flexible polyurethane, 3.7 lb/ft³ (60 kg/m³), fire-retardant class 1 IM; fabric cover
690 armchair: 26.2 × 23.0 × 23.2 in, height 32.3 in, seat height 18.3 in, 20.9 lb — die-cast aluminum legs
691 side chair: 18.9 × 21.3 in, height 33.5 in, seat height 18.9 in, 15.4 lb
Swivel versions: 695 (23.2 × 23.2 in, height 32.3-35.4 in, seat 16.9-20.1 in, 34.2 lb) · 695F (height 32.1-33.9 in, seat 18.1-19.9 in, 33.1 lb) · 696 high back (23.2 × 24.4 in, height 34.7-37.8 in, 35.3 lb) · 696F (height 34.8-36.6 in, 34.2 lb); 2.4 in gas-lift column, four-star die-cast aluminum base 28.3 in across, 2.4 in swivel casters, chromed inner column on request; ships knock-down
Counter and bar stools: 698 (16.9 × 18.5 in, height 39.4 in, seat 29.5 in, 18.7 lb) and 698_H650 (16.7 × 18.1 in, height 35.4 in, seat 25.6 in, 17.6 lb) — tapered steel tube legs, 0.8 in steel footrest
Ester Lounge 699: 30.1 × 29.1 in, height 28.9 in, seat 17.7 in, 32.6 lb
693 pouf: 16.5 × 14.6 × 14.6 in, 7.3 lb
Leg finishes (690, 691, 698): titanium, brushed nickel, brushed bronze, antique brass
Swivel frame finishes: black powder coated or polished aluminum
Glides: silver polypropylene as standard; felt /FLT on request for wood, ceramic and marble floors, /POM for carpet
Upholstery: Pedrali publishes a dedicated Upholstery Collections card for the US market alongside the international one; categories G, H, N and P apply with the exclusions printed in the price list, and seat and back can be ordered in two different fabrics
Strength tests: EN 1728:2012+AC2013 and EN 16139:2013 level 2, declared by Pedrali on 690, 691, 698 and 699
Reaction to fire: class 1 IM on every Ester model; the declaration of conformity is issued on written request with the order, for that supply
Emissions: UL 2818 GREENGUARD, product certified for low chemical emissions, declared in the price list
Packing: one piece per carton — 13.4 ft³ for 690 and 691, 14.3 for the swivels, 10.8 for the stools, 16.9 for the lounge, 2.5 for the pouf
Environment: steel with at least 33.2% recycled content at origin, aluminum 94%; end-of-life recyclability declared at 50.5% on the 690
Warranty: 24 months on manufacturing flaws and defects, declared by Pedrali
Company certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 14064-1
Made in: Italy

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When it is the right choice

Boardrooms and hospitality floors in the same scheme: Pedrali specifies Ester from corporate rooms to restaurant dining rooms.
Long meetings: the shell is molded polyurethane at 3.7 lb/ft³ over a steel frame with elastic belts, not a rigid seat.
Projects that need a fire declaration: class 1 IM is declared on every Ester model, issued in writing with the order.

When another solution fits better

At a desk worked all day: EN 1728 is declared on the legged models, not the swivels → Task & Ergonomic Chairs
Where seats are wiped down between shifts: every Ester is fabric-upholstered, with no washable shell declared → Designer Chairs
For a patio or pool deck: Pedrali declares no outdoor version of Ester → Outdoor Dining Furniture

Let us know which finishes you'd like to explore

FAQ

Are the US fabric references the same as the European ones?

Not entirely. Pedrali issues an Upholstery Collections card for the US market next to the international one, and the two do not carry the same set of categories. A European drawing can name a reference that has no counterpart on the US card, which is why the category is confirmed before the order.

How does the chair ship?

One piece per carton. The 690 and 691 travel at 13.4 ft³ each, the lounge at 16.9, the pouf at 2.5. The swivel versions arrive knock-down, so a freight elevator that fits a 14.3 ft³ carton is enough.

Do the metal parts read the same in every room?

No, and that is the point of having four: titanium, brushed nickel, brushed bronze and antique brass behave differently under warm and cool lighting. The swivel frame is decided separately, black powder coated or polished.

What does the shell weigh, and why does it matter?

The 691 is 15.4 lb, of which roughly half is polyurethane and a third steel. It is light enough for a server to reset a room alone, and heavy enough that a chair pushed back does not travel across a hard floor.

Is there a counter-height version?

Two stool heights are made: seat at 29.5 in and seat at 25.6 in, both on tapered steel tube legs with a footrest. They share the shell with the chairs, so a bar and a boardroom can be upholstered in the same fabric.

How to care for the aluminum on an Ester chair

The maintenance Pedrali states for aluminum, in five steps, so an Ester frame keeps its finish through years of use.

Dust the Ester frame first

Go over the legs or the swivel base with a dry microfiber cloth before anything wet touches them. Grit left on the surface is what turns a wipe into a scratch.

Use a neutral cleaner

Pedrali states a soft or microfiber cloth soaked in a neutral household cleaner or degreaser. Nothing abrasive, nothing granular, no solvents and no bleach.

Rinse and dry

Always rinse with water and wipe the frame dry after cleaning. Left to air-dry, a household cleaner leaves the film that dulls a polished aluminum base.

Treat a surface scratch

For superficial scratches Pedrali indicates a non-abrasive polish for coated surfaces, worked in circular movements, then the residue removed.

Protect what you polished

Finish by protecting the surface with wax or sealant, and test any cleaning agent on a small hidden area first. Pedrali gives these as recommendations, not as a guarantee of stain removal.