Copper catches on

 WORDS: Alma Viviers

Copper is set to be the season’s comeback kid, dethroning silver and gold as the metallic of the moment.

The current popularity of copper as a material in everything from lighting and furniture to homeware and bicycles is largely due to British designer Tom Dixon.

His Copper Shade pendant light is already a modern-day classic, and his new Step Family of Lights, made from spun solid copper, is reinforcing the global appeal of this warm-hued metal.

So it comes as no surprise that, when Tom collaborated with the definitive fold-up bike brand, Brompton, to create a limited-edition design, they produced a copper-plated prototype. The bicycle, along with Tom’s various copper lights, was exhibited with vintage copper pieces at the 2010 London Design Festival. 

Copper facts

• Copper cookware, which is en vogue again, is highly regarded by chefs around the world. It has the highest heat transfer of any material used in cooking, plus it offers uniform heating, so you don’t get any hot spots.
• Pure copper’s melting point is 1083°C.
• Copper is biostatic, which means that bacteria will not grow on its surface.
• Copper statues and architectural structures slowly corrode, acquiring a green surface patina thanks to oxidation.
• One of the major advantages of copper is that it’s recyclable. In fact it’s recycle value is so great that premium-grade scrap metal is sold for 95% of the value of newly mined copper.

• www.tomdixon.net