In 1925, two enterprising young engineers, Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen founded a small eponymously named consumer electronics manufacturer in Struer, a small town in the northwestern part of Denmark. In the decades that followed, Bang & Olufsen established a reputation for quality media devices with a striking attention to design and engineering. This mantra has remained B&O’s driving force and it has generated them a strong global demand as well as a sophisticated customer base willing to pay the significant price premiums that such a philosophy entails.
Such has been the rate of general technological advancement in the near century since they began that it’s remarkable that Bang & Olufsen is even still relevant. That they are, is because they have concentrated on three main things: luxury materials, a retro-futuristic style and groundbreaking technology. It’s therefore funny to see that in celebrating their 90th anniversary, the company has primarily focussed on the first part through the application of rose gold on six of its top-selling products.
On paper, that sounds like a horrible idea but in reality, the result is anything but. We’re told the reason for this flamboyance was ostensibly to capture the mood of the Roaring Twenties, the period during which the company was putting down its roots. Given that this was a decade of style, exuberance and glamour, as well as the age of Jazz and Art Deco that does make sense. Then again, they were probably tinkering about when they lucked upon the fact that a judicious application of gold simply looks bloody good.
That they then called it the ‘Love Affair Collection’ is another oddity, we know. The corporate release explains it was “to reflect the love and attention to detail that has been a hallmark of Bang & Olufsen for the past 90 years”. We think it’s because if you weren’t already in love with their luxury electronics, you probably will be now.
Marie Kristine Schmidt, VP Brand, Design and Marketing, offered us further insight into why they gave their products the Midas touch, “While white gold represents friendship and yellow gold means fidelity, rose gold represents love and is therefore the ultimate inspiration for this exclusive collection. We see these products as a living illustration of the love affair that has lasted from our origin, where the passion and dedication to craftsmanship and quality of two Danish engineers Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen has caught the attention of people all over the world.”
At this point we have to mention that they haven’t used actual rose gold. Rather, they developed a unique aluminium dyeing process that would help keep weight and prices down. But as with any B&O product, you can’t expect it to be cheap although you can be assured everything has been designed to the nth degree and built to last. Fair value? That’s for you to decide. Prices are in the caption.
