We use it for dining and was shock one day when I start slowly decent to the floor only to find the metal legs bend and break right from the joint.

These seat looks absolutely beautiful but the metal base is weak and won't last long... so not a good investment as the warranties are too short.

A bit of googling and looking at the reviews shows that this is obviously a known issue. Really disappointed.

We purchased four Herman Miller DCM (Dining Chair, Metal Base) Eames dining chairs about 18 months ago. Of the four, two have since broken.

We are an adult household, no undue abuse, and at almost $900 per chair, we expected they would last forever. In fact, we purchased this chair not only because it is elegant and iconic, but because we wanted commercial grade quality. We could easily have gone to the local furniture stores and purchased a run-of-the-mill chair at a quarter of the price, but we wanted top quality as well as first rate design. What we got was chairs that we are afraid to sit on.

To add to the problem, we received a complete lack of support from Herman Miller. In our case, the bolts holding the plywood back sheared off two of the four chairs. We feel the fact that the same failure was evident in 50% of the chairs within weeks of one another, points to defective bolts with compromised shear strength. Herman Miller’s response, when asked to replace the bolts on the remaining two, was to refuse to replace two bolts on each of the remaining two chairs—really, how much could that cost? Their explanation was that they didn’t want to invalidate their own warranty, as if they had no control over the situation. Their position is that they will replace the bolts as they fail. So apparently, while they don’t want to pay for four bolts, they have no problem putting us and our guests at risk. So much for dealing with a top-notch commercial company.

I would recommend that if you want a chair that is iconic and durable you purchase Emeco’s original Navy Chair, that is our replacement for nearly $4,000 worth of Herman Miller furniture.

We bought 4 of these thinking they would be very durable for use in our kitchen (house with only 2 adults). 3 years in, the metal base on one chair broke sending the guest to the floor. After spending money to replace the chair, a different one broke in the same spot yesterday. The chair was 9 years old. Quality of metal for the base is suspect. Too expensive for chairs that don't last.

I love these chairs. The grain of the backs and seats of the chairs are beyond gorgeous. I have four originals from the 1960s. There have been many improvements over the years in quality and aesthetics. I cherish both sets of chairs.