How old is my Jieldé lamp?
The very first sketch designs of the label. A number of variants also emerged later. The most famous and most widely used is the label with France in the logo.
Jieldé lamps from 1950
Jean- Louis Domecq designed his Jieldé lamp back in April 1950. 75 years later, Jieldé lamps are still made in Saint-Priest near Lyon, in France. One of the most important features we look for to determine how old a Jieldé lamp is, is the label.
The first lamps have aluminum labels, in green, blue and black. These aluminum plates are riveted, so they are from the first years starting in 1950. The lamps from 1950 onwards have a switch made of metal. The first lamps were made in three colors, “Machine gray”, “Olive green” and “Vespa green”. The three colors that are still most in demand today.
Jieldé lamps from 1980 onward
The somewhat later dated Jieldé lamps, from 1980 - 1986 had a black sticker and were simple in design. These lamps also did not have a metal switch but one made of black plastic. Perhaps to save on production costs. Who knows may say.
Jieldé lamps as they are made today
As of 2000, modern Jieldé lamps have a label with a number, only that, unfortunately, says nothing of the dating of the lamps. The numbers are just batch numbers in the production process.
The Jieldé Signal lamp
In 2003, a replica of the Loft lamp was created, the Signal. A lamp similar to the Loft only smaller. The image to the right clearly shows the difference. The Loft has a reflector with a diameter of 16 cm and the Signal has a reflector of 10 cm, also the arms are smaller and shorter. This Signal is clearly an interior design and not like the Loft a design originally intended as a workshop lamp.
This image clearly shows the difference between the “Loft” and the “Signal.” The “Signal” is a very small copy of the original “Loft,” also called: “The Standard.” Not only are the dimensions of the sphere and arms much smaller, the ingenious copper rings in the pivots are also missing. In my opinion, a design that does not do justice to the original.
Jieldé lamps made abroad
There are also foreign versions of the Jieldé lamps, fairly rare and special. We know of two, a British version made for British Central Electrical Co. Ltd. (source: vintricity.com).
And a Swiss version the Flurex. This one is also fairly rare and unique. The label shows the month and year of production (date de fabrication), very useful to date the lamp exactly.
