Vintage Eyeglasses

[Short Balding Guy]

These came back from the optometrist last week. It was a long, patient hunt.

View attachment 168368

Congrats. The frames are dynamite.

 

[Stringmaster]

Any idea who made Roy's glasses? They appear to be a grey tortoise and metal frame. I dig 'em!

 

[Retromoto]

Pretty neat, As they don't seem to fit his face(ears) well, perhaps a recycled item he had lens made to suit his prescription.
G.

 

[Edward]

My understanding is that until the 1960s, protection from UV rays wasn't something the military paid close attention to when creating specs for pilot sunglasses. By the 1980s, it was nailed down and required. I would go on the assumption that any sunglasses manufactured before 1970 and with their original lenses aren't going to offer much UV protection, and if this is a concern, the lenses should be updated with modern materials.

Agreed. If you intend to wear original aviators, carefully remove and store the original lenses and have them fitted with modern ones (rx prescription or otherwise, as needed) - don't take risks with your eyesight for the sake of an authenticity that many might not even notice if they handled them. THis is easier, of course, with designes like Aviators where you don't have to heat plastic frames to fit lenses (one reason I have tended to prefer browlines for many years is that they can keep being re-lensed for a long time).

 

[Royohboy]

Agreed. If you intend to wear original aviators, carefully remove and store the original lenses and have them fitted with modern ones (rx prescription or otherwise, as needed) - don't take risks with your eyesight for the sake of an authenticity that many might not even notice if they handled them. THis is easier, of course, with designes like Aviators where you don't have to heat plastic frames to fit lenses (one reason I have tended to prefer browlines for many years is that they can keep being re-lensed for a long time).

Thanks for the input, guys! The reason I asked was that a friend of mine really hurt her eyes last summer with those super-cool holy-grail vintage 1960s shades; for some reason I was hoping that glass lenses vs. plastic might make a difference.

BTW, I found out an easy (but very, very inexact) way to test for UV protection: Shine a UV pen light through the lens and onto a scrawl made with a UV ink pen. The more the scrawl is visible, the less the UV protection of your shades. This will, of course, only give you a very rough idea.

It only gives you a _very_ rough idea, but by testing against a known pair of quality sunglasses I found out that most of my vintage sunglasses have little (if any) UV protection, but one pair I found for cheap probably isn't as vintage as I thought.

 

[ConsiderMeMilesDavis]

Alex at Optical Sphere's email is opticalalex@gmail.com or you can reach him at the shop Tuesday-Sat at 323 852 9255.

and by the way, while Johnny Depp wears vintage Tarts in Amber in real life, he also wore vintage Tarts in Brownsmoke for the film Secret Window:

vintage Tart Arnel in Brownsmoke
(these look a little different from my Ambers because they have a smaller bridge - the ambers are 42/24 and the brownsmokes are 42/22.)

but yeah, comparison:

I don't know what those "Depp" glasses remind me of, but it's pretty much anything other than an Arnel.
but I'm kind of an overly picky nerd.

The Dolabany Arnold is closer:

but still not close enough for me! (see what I mean? overly picky nerd.)

Have you handled a pair of Dolabany Arnold's? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm apprehensive to purchase without seeing a pair in person, first.

For example, I own a pair of official reproduction Tart Arnel's, and Moscot Lemtosh. The Tart's acetate thickness is much, much more substantial than the Moscot, and I assume they'll be more durable in the long run. Plus, the Moscot's have flat shields (lame).

 

[fabiovenhorst]

I've got this vintage 1920's frames that are identical to the ones my grandpa's wore back in the same era.

 

[Nobert]

Interesting. I've never seen a pair with xylo on the nose piece before.

 

[Edward Reed]

I've got this vintage 1920's frames that are identical to the ones my grandpa's wore back in the same era.
View attachment 181062

View attachment 181063

View attachment 181064

View attachment 181065

now that is a great find! you must be thrilled to find the same glasses! I can also see the family resemblance!

 

[scotrace]

FanTAStic!

 

[fabiovenhorst]

Interestign article about vintage celluloid eyeglasses...

https://www.college-optometrists.or...les-gallery/cellulose-nitrate-spectacles.html

 

[Warden]

Saw this thread and had to share this pic of me in my Shuron Ronsir glasses. The bit that goes against your nose and the glasses fell off today, so it hurt to wear them, thus I found another use for the glasses cleaning cloth.

Afraid the pic is on my Instagram account so to see it you need to click here

 

[GHT]

I've got this vintage 1920's frames that are identical to the ones my grandpa's wore back in the same era.
View attachment 181062

Well done you, I've got a 1920's tortoise shell pair that were my Grandfather's. It has taken me a very long time to get an optician to fit them with my reading prescription. They are in the original spectacle case. Note the case lining is held in place with a paper clip, it's falling apart but I couldn't bare to glue it, somehow the shabby appearance of the case just seems right.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Extreme oversized Rx aviators are hard to find new. It seems nowadays anything with a double bridge they call an aviator regardless of shape. Cable temples are hard to find new. I just bought a pair of oversized frames in my size, NOS from the 1970's but without cables. They will be made into sunglasses.

And I was also successful finally, in finding 2 pair NOS of John Lennon's Revolution rounds in my size. They're out there, only in small sizes usually.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

One pair of NOS John Lennon Rx Revolution frames last licensed by the Lennon Estate in 1990. These are black gold & I have a pair in gold.

1970's L'UOMO aviators in gold. The L'UOMO script on the demo lens is printed light & doesn't get exposed against the black background of the pic.

 

[Retromoto]

Due to a breakage of my current lens and the fact that my Eye Doctor is closed due to CoVid19, I'm going to order a pair of Shuron frames. Have the people who've ordered frames and lens been happy with the results? My biggest concern is the lens produced by their labs. I wear progressive lens and the name brands don't apply here so it's tough to compare things. Are the coatings comparable with the name brands? Are the prescriptions accurate? I've tried to research things although coming up a bit short on good info. Any suggestions or knowledge of their products is appreciated, Thanks, G.

 

[dh66]

Due to a breakage of my current lens and the fact that my Eye Doctor is closed due to CoVid19, I'm going to order a pair of Shuron frames. Have the people who've ordered frames and lens been happy with the results? My biggest concern is the lens produced by their labs. I wear progressive lens and the name brands don't apply here so it's tough to compare things. Are the coatings comparable with the name brands? Are the prescriptions accurate? I've tried to research things although coming up a bit short on good info. Any suggestions or knowledge of their products is appreciated, Thanks, G.

Shuron frames are top shelf and their customer service is unrivaled. They sent me a box full of frames to try on, I paid for what fit and sent the rest back on their dime. Hard to top that. I have no idea as to the quality of their lenses, however. I've always had those put in locally.

 

[BobHufford]

^^^^^ I agree with Dale on the Shuron frames being top-notch, but (due to needing two prisms in my lenses) I also have them done locally. I was nervous sending back the extra frames to Shuron, so popped for insurance (which was quite a bit for so many frames). I'm due up for new frames this year with my vision plan so will be getting Shurons again.

 

[Retromoto]

^^^^^ I agree with Dale on the Shuron frames being top-notch, but (due to needing two prisms in my lenses) I also have them done locally. I was nervous sending back the extra frames to Shuron, so popped for insurance (which was quite a bit for so many frames). I'm due up for new frames this year with my vision plan so will be getting Shurons again.

I also have (2) prisms and a progressive grind so I'm a little hesitant as there's so many variables in lens manufacturing. That said I don't know how long the jury fix is going to last on my present glasses, I might have to toss the dice...
G.

 

[Edward]

Due to a breakage of my current lens and the fact that my Eye Doctor is closed due to CoVid19, I'm going to order a pair of Shuron frames. Have the people who've ordered frames and lens been happy with the results? My biggest concern is the lens produced by their labs. I wear progressive lens and the name brands don't apply here so it's tough to compare things. Are the coatings comparable with the name brands? Are the prescriptions accurate? I've tried to research things although coming up a bit short on good info. Any suggestions or knowledge of their products is appreciated, Thanks, G.

Shuron frames are top shelf and their customer service is unrivaled. They sent me a box full of frames to try on, I paid for what fit and sent the rest back on their dime. Hard to top that. I have no idea as to the quality of their lenses, however. I've always had those put in locally.

Back in 2009, I contact Shuron about buying some frames. I decided not to go with their lab for lensing because the one element of my prescription I didn't have at the time was pupil distance, and rather than get it wrong, I just had them lensed locally to me. I did intially have them send me five different sets of frames, all in one box - and they charged me afterwards only for what I kept. I then bought three more pairs of frames from them in my right size, paying about 30GBP less per pair thanthey would have cost me here in the UK. Lovely glasses, never had a problem with them. The service from Shuron was fantastic, both then and, a few years later, when I broke a leg on one pair and needed a replacement. Btoh tiems I dealt with a guy called Tony Rivers - don't know if he's still there or not, been a while (though I do need to go back to them for a new pair of frames soon...). Highly, highly recommended. I wouldn't hesitate to get lenses direct from them in future if I wassure I had all the details correct.