The Best Flatware With a Design Pedigree
Collectible cutlery from various architects, designers, and furniture-makers.
Arne Jacobsen’s Danish-Modern Flatware Arne Jacobsen Cutlery for Georg Jensen Set of 16, $189 at royaldesign.com
“You can’t pick this up without thinking how gorgeous and streamlined it is,” says interior designer Ghislaine Viñas of this set, which was designed in 1957 for Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel—and used by the crew in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:
A Space Odyssey.
Ettore Sottsass’s Cinched Flatware Ettore Sottsass Cinque Stelle Stainless-Steel Flatware, Set of 24, $218 at store.moma.org
Those who can’t justify the price of an Ultrafragola mirror might consider investing in Sottsass’s more affordable (than furniture) flatware. “There’s something charming,” designer Ellen Van Dusen says, “about the wide handle and pinched neck.”
John Pawson’s Flatware With Five-Pronged Forks John Pawson 24-Piece Flatware Set, $732 at jangeorge.com
Designer Conway Liao pointed us to this set, created by British designer John Pawson, who is known for his simple, minimal aesthetic. It has a shinier mirror finish and a five-pronged fork, one more than the standard four.
Jens Quistgaard’s Mixed-Material Flatware Fjord Teak Flatware, Set of Five, $115 at store.moma.org
“Fjord, by Jens Quistgaard, is probably the first ultrasuccessful flatware design after WWII,” according to editor Dung Ngo, who says it “helped define the Danish-modern look.” He likes this wood-and-stainlesssteel set, which he describes as “warm, not antiseptic.”
Carl Hugo Pott’s Olympics-Worthy Flatware Pott 22 Five-Piece Set, $380 at shophorne.com
Ngo describes flatware from German company Carl Hugo Pott as “the Rolls-Royce of cutlery”— all “super-well detailed and finished but not elaborate in any way.” This particular set was the official flatware of the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Gio Ponti’s Slightly Off-Kilter Flatware Sambonet Conca Gio Ponti Five-Piece Place Setting (Solid-Handle Knife), $85 at sambonet-shop.com
The spoons in the Italian architect and industrial designer’s set are “slightly hollowed out and look a bit like conch shells,” Archer-Coité says. And the heads on all three of the utensils are unique— they cheat to the left of the bodies.
Peter Raacke’s Red, Ringed Flatware Peter Raacke Mono-Ring Flatware 24-Piece Set With Stand, Red, $795 at shophorne.com
The German product designer debuted this Mono-Ring flatware in 1966, according to Archer-Coité. The trademark ringed handles have a functional purpose, too: to allow the utensils to be hung from a stand (which happens to be included with the 24-piece set).