24 Karat Blau Hanging Lamp – Ingo Maurer

Designed by
Axel Schmid 2005

24 Karat Blau by designer Axel Schmid is part of and gives its name to an entire family of lamps by Ingo Maurer. Four shades with gold leaf cast in acrylic glass, metal, plastic: The gold shades of the luminaire each have four holes with which they can be hung on the red rod cross at different angles, in portrait or landscape format. The 24-carat gold leaf shades are made individually by hand. Gold leaf is real gold. It is beaten wafer-thin with a hammer by gold beaters. The gold leaf is beaten 1/10,000 mm thin – the equivalent of 1,000 atomic layers – so that short-wave blue light can shine through between the molecules, while yellow-gold light is reflected. Thanks to the special beating technique, the wafer-thin gold leaf displays a beautiful star-shaped pattern. Axel Schmid deliberately opted for real gold: “With real gold, the energy stays there – inside the luminaire. No gold paint can imitate that. With real gold, there is also the surface structure. In combination with acrylic, precious gold leaf is brought into a format that is easy to handle and maintain.” The colors red (rods and cable) and blue (light point) form a beautiful contrast to the gold. 24 Karat Blau can be extended as required: 24 Karat Blau M is the name of the extension module that turns a single 24 Karat Blau into a larger pendant luminaire.