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Archive for the ‘Fashion sunglasses’ Category
Summer of Surf better with Polarized Shades
Oh wow these past few weeks have been awesome we have had several storm generated swells back to back and I’ve been spending allot of time at the beach. My polarized sunglasses have made a world of difference! They really cut the glare and make it easier to figure out where the waves are best. I never leave home without them!
While most people base their selection of sunglasses on their visual aesthetic, there is a clear beneficial difference between some sunglasses. The truth is, a lot of cheap sunglasses aren’t polarized, which means that the sunglasses aren’t deflecting the sun’s harmful rays. When the eyes are exposed to the sun’s harmful rays all the time, it can cause damage over the course of the lifetime. Thus, some sunglasses aren’t offering all that much protection. It’s important to choose sunglasses that have polarized lenses, as these sunglasses do protect against harmful UVA and UVB rays.
Polarized sunglasses are most often available from designer brands, but don’t expect to pay the same $5 for designer sunglasses as one would at a curbside stand. Designer sunglasses can be expensive, however, there are several designer brands that offer more affordable sunglasses than the big names. Just like fashion, much of the reason for the cost is the brand name itself. Mens designer sunglasses from brands like Coyote and Ocean Waves are a great value, and also have polarized lenses.
After spending the last week and a half in Italy, I am now in Florence and I can’t help to notice all the Sunglasses everyone is wearing. Everyone seems to have a different style or brand so I decided to try to figure out which brands were most popular. It seems that the cheap knock-offs are by far the most popular, everything from hello kitty frames to hearts to knock-off ray-bans (I guess they don’t read this blog). This is followed by designer eyewear like Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, ect. Oakley also seems to be popular in the crowds and stores along with Ocean Waves and Anarchy.
Large frames seem to be the norm for women while men seem to prefer wraparound frames. It is very unusual for anyone to not be wearing some type of sunglasses and since there has been no rain or cloudy days since I’ve arrived I expect that to be normal for Italian summers.
A girlfriend of mine always wears Gucci or Prada Sunglasses and I thought they looked hot but when I tried to get some I found that I had two choices either pay a fortune or buy cheap knock offs. I really couldn’t afford the real thing but the knock offs didn’t offer UV protection. So I started looking for glasses that looked stylish, offered the protection I need and were affordable.
As I searched the internet I found quality sunglasses at a fraction of the price of the top designer brands. Some of them only make glasses for women!
Actually you have three choices when it comes to lens composition: Glass, Plastic or Polycarbonate. All have advantages and disadvantages we will discuss each so you can determine which is best for you.
Glass lenses provide the best scratch resistance and highest optical clarity. They are, however, 2-3 times as heavy as plastic or polycarbonate lenses and, while they are tempered for impact resistance, can shatter or break if struck by an object. These types of lenses are suitable for people who value durability and clarity but are not great for people involved in high speed sports or activities where something could strike your lenses or face.
Plastic lenses are significantly lighter than glass lenses, and thus, may be more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Also, while not shatterproof, these lenses are also more shatter resistant than glass. Disadvantages include average optical clarity and less scratch resistance. These types of lenses are great for customers looking for a lightweight, affordable pair of sunglasses.
Polycarbonate lenses are shatterproof and extremely lightweight. Their primary drawback is that the material is very soft and is the least scratch resistant material used. These lenses are great for active people involved in sports. Because they are lightweight they will stay put when moving around. The shatterproof lenses will also provide protection from not only UV rays, but also impact from objects or in case of an accident or a fall.
Better frames (often called Hand-Made Frames) are made from Cellulose Acetate or Zyl, as it is often called. This is the material the optical world recognizes as the finest and over 90% of it is produced in Italy by a company named Mazzuchelli or by its sister company in Hong Kong. Cellulose Acetate is derived from natural cotton and wood fibers and is subjected to a process of steaming, coloring, molding and cutting to achieve the necessary characteristics: translucency, shine, fluidity, subtlety and rich color patterns. Cellulose Acetate is used to make colors as simple as black or tortoise shell in hundreds of variations, to special colors like Lipstick Red, Lime Green or colors that change depending on the angle you see them from, and everything in between.
A Zyl frame is composed of two main parts: the front and the temples. The two parts are made separately and then assembled after each part has been completed and inspected. Creating an optical quality frame is a labor-intensive process that can be carried out only by highly trained technicians aided by technologically advanced equipment. Optical quality frames can be used for either sunglasses or fitted with prescription lenses. They are perfectly symmetrical and will not distort vision when fitted with ophthalmic lenses.
When Italian materials are used in designer frames it is made by pouring liquefied Cellulose Acetate, in colors chosen and mixed into large molds where they cool and then harden. More complex colorations are produced somewhat like a sandwich: several colors, in separate layers, and permanently bonded together. Some special colors are made up of up to 4 separate and distinct color layers. The possible color combinations of these “laminates” are endless. As the precess of making the glasses proceeds, the material is skived, or shaved away, exposing these different layers and creating stunning visual effects.
The frames are then “tumbled” with teakwood chips for as long as a week to make them smooth. The frame is then hand polished using a wax and emollient shining cream then buffed to a high luster.
A good designer spends a great amount of time designing temples that are comfortable to wear and that blend seamlessly with the front., while imparting a special flair to the glasses. Depending on the particular style, you will notice many different shapes and sizes of temples in different collection. The handmade process on the temples is as painstaking as that of the fronts because the temples are specially color designed to match he patterns on the front.
Nickel Silver wire temple cores and barrel hinges are inserted into the polished temples using an ultrasonic machine that shoots them into the temple at the proper angle. The wire core can be adjusted by you, or an optician, to comfortably fit each individual customer.
In this two-part Blog, I will discuss the three main ways that non-metal sunglass frames are made. In this part I will discuss the first two types Injection Molding and Advanced Materials. In the next part will be devoted to explaining Hand-Made frames.
The least expensive method is made by Injecting a mold created from aluminum or highly polished stainless steel with liquid plastic. This material is petroleum-based products that begins in bead form. To add color, they are spray-painted and then glass coated and tumbled for shine.
Recently materials like Grilamid TR-90 have been developed to answer the need for lightweight and durable frames that offer optical quality not typically associated with typical injection plastics. This new technology has made it possible to make great looking frames that can, in many cases accommodate prescription lenses. A new material, Grilamid TR-90, is a Swiss Nylon Polymer that is melted and then poured into optical quality stainless steel molds. fronts and temples are produced separately. Once removed from the molds, they are hand polished and assembled before the lenses are fitted. The temple tips and nose pieces of many Grilamid TR-90 frames are made from optical grade rubber to add comfort and prevent slippage during strenuous activity. The end result is a frame that is lightweight, yet extremely durable and flexible.
The Age of Polarization
While strolling down Broadway in 1926, Edwin Herbert Land was blinded by the headlights of an oncoming automobile. It occurred to him that there must be away to develop a polarizing sheet that would reduce glare from light. He was attending Harvard University as a freshman when he first had his revelation about the polarizing process. He left Harvard and moved to New York, working secretly at night in a laboratory at Columbia University. In 1929 Land returned to Harvard, this time with his wife, Helen. Although Land would never graduate, he had already developed the first synthetic sheet polarizer by trapping tiny crystals in a thin sheet. By 1932 the sheet was actually being produced and would be used to make camera lens filters and polarizing sunglasses that cut glare from the sun. With the backing of Wall Street tycoons James P.Warburg, Averell Harriman (1891-1986) and Lewis Strauss, Land founded the Polaroid Corporation in 1937. One of the company’s first projects was to persuade Detroit’s automobile industry to install polarizing sheets in the headlamps and windshields of all its vehicles. Although Land was never able to sell his ideas to automobile manufacturers, he went on to discover many more uses for his invention.
By the 1940s, the Polaroid Corporation was making its contribution to the United States war effort. Servicemen who fought in World War II reaped the benefits of Land’s inventions that resulted in polarizers for rangefinders and . The development of infrared viewers also aided night vision. By 1945 the Polaroid Corporation received millions of dollars in government contracts to develop military optics, and sales increased from the original $142,000 to $17 million.
Since I spend most of my time at the beach, I like to wear Mirror lens (they also let me check the boys out!). But I found that most of the glasses I bought at the department stores scratched easily. So I started to look into how these lenses were made and it seems that the mirror coating is applied last putting it on the outside of the lens making most susceptible to scratching.
As I continued searching I found that better sunglasses used a film made of materials such as diamond-like carbon and polycrystalline diamond. These materials are used to create a thin but extremely durable film on the surface of the lens. This process makes it possible for me to get affordable polycarbonate mirror glasses that are scratch resistant and will really last!
Sam Foster is widely recognised as the creator of the modern day Sunglasses. His company, Foster Grant was started in 1919 producing Ladies hair accessories. Then in 1929 he began selling his glasses at Woolworth’s on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. By 1934 they introduced injection molding enabling Foster Grant to grow from a regoinal company to a national one.
In the 1930s, the Army Air Corps commissioned the optical firm of Bausch & Lomb to produce a highly effective spectacle that would protect pilots from the dangers of high-altitude glare. Company physicists and opticians perfected a special dark-green tint that absorbed light in the yellow band of the spectrum.
With World War II brewing in 1936, Ray Ban (a Baush & Lomb Company) designed anti-glare aviator style sunglasses, using polarized lens technology newly created by Edwin H. Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation.
They also designed a slightly drooping frame perimeter to maximally shield an aviator’s eyes, which repeatedly glanced downward toward a plane’s instrument panel. Fliers were issued the glasses at no charge, and the public in 1937 was able to purchase the model that banned the sun’s rays as Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses.