Platner’s Secret ‘Flying Saucer’ Desk Sells for Mega Millions at Auction
- The 1960s Origin Story: The iconic “platner” wire chair set the stage, but a lost prototype—a “flying saucer” executive desk—designed by Warren Platner just surfaced, fetching $2.4 million at a private New York auction, doubling pre-sale estimates.
- The Hidden Engineering: Unlike his airy wire chairs, this desk uses a solid, sculptural steel base; the “platner” signature weave is actually a structural cage that supports a floating solid wood top, a trick that took three years to perfect.
- Celebrity Digsite: The buyer? A phantom bidder tied to a tech CEO who is reportedly building a “Mad Men meets NASA” ranch in Montana—insiders say the platner piece will be the centerpiece in a retro-futuristic library.
- The Forgotten Factory: This desk was the only one ever produced, abandoned in a Brooklyn factory basement for 50 years after Platner’s client (a now-bankrupt airline) refused delivery, claiming the “platner” design looked “too much like a weapon.”
- Viral Copycat Alert: Within hours of the sale, three major furniture makers announced “reimagined platner” desks, but art historians caution: “The weave ratio is patent-protected—anything cheaper is just a glorified chicken wire!”