Originally designed by Vico Magistretti, Eclisse marries form and function beautifully. To celebrate what would have been Magistretti’s 100th birthday in 2020, Artemide released a limited-edition version during the 2021 holiday season. The new incarnation comes in four finishes: Mirror, Copper, Matte Black, and Gold.

The little table lamp created in 1967 still looks futuristic, which underscores Eclisse’s design strengths. Like a little globose robot or an atomic model, Eclisse features two stacked spheres. The form is enduring, but it’s Eclisse’s function that overshadows other iconic numbers. The brilliant facet of the design comes from the lamp’s rotating internal shade. Move it and it “eclipses” the light source. Brilliant.

The special edition has a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) finish that gives Eclisse a glamorous look. In Mirror, Copper, and Gold, the metallic sheen intensifies the lamp’s space-age silhouette. In Matte Black, Eclisse is as debonair as a Magritte bowler hat.

While the world is full of eye-catching lighting, some designs don’t focus on the quality of light. Not the case with Eclisse. Not the case with Artemide. After all, the Italian lighting giant subscribes to its philosophy of “the human light.” With Eclisse, Magistretti took inspiration from a natural phenomenon and encapsulated the eclipse in a perfect package. Buon Compleanno!