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Which raw material is it? Are the glasses of our dreams made of robust metal? Does it have to be titanium if their material is to be rock hard? Or are there modern plastic materials that are more comfortable to wear yet still robust? That’s the question we’re dealing with in this blogpost.
Marble Breaks and Iron Bends
…but our glasses never end!? A lot has to happen for iron to bend. Forces like that will (hopefully) never impact on your glasses frame. Also, in the production, iron is involved only as part of the alloy. Most metal glasses frames consist of stainless steel, which, although it has a high tensile strength, allows for easy moulding. Furthermore, stainless steel is corrosion-resistant and lends itself well to polishing and layering of colours.
The alloys for a wide range of different colours and tints consist, for example, of shiny silver palladium or dark grey ruthenium. Metal frames could be a disadvantage if the nickel content of the alloy is too high and you are allergic to nickel. In this case, titanium could be an alternative. Linda Farrow has quite a range of prescription glasses and sunglasses on offer.
Titanium is, right after aluminium, the most lightweight metal and is perfect for thin glasses frames. Since it is utmost robust in spite of its low weight, not much of the material is required for the production. Titanium is mainly used in space travel and is a very precious raw material. Moreover, the production is rather complex, which is why titanium glasses are quite pricey.
Works of art made of artificial materials
Plastic has the advantage that it is soft and hence malleable, which offers unlimited possibilities for the design of plastic frames, as superbly presented by Prada with the Minimal Baroque. Also, plastic frames are lightweight and make for very comfortable wearing. The trend material in eyewear is currently cellulose acetate. It is either cut out of a single block or shaped by way of an injection moulding process. In the process, softeners are used which transpire after a longer wearing period. This causes the appearance of a white lining, which can easily be removed by polishing the frame. In sum, acetate frames score mainly with their lightness and their malleability, but then they are not as resilient as titanium, for example (especially in extreme temperatures).
Presents from Mother Nature
Instead of producing prescription glasses and sunglasses using chemical procedures, it is also possible to just use materials that occur naturally in our environment. Here, wooden frames are particularly popular. We recommend the label Wood Fellas. Complete without artificial dyes, this natural material gives the frame beautiful colourings. The colour spectrum ranges from light silver birch to African blackwood. So no worries about allergies here, and the wooden frames also don’t weigh much. So whoever thinks that if they chose wooden glasses they would have to carry a tree trunk on their nose, is a blockhead. Should you not see the advantages of this great and sustainable raw material, alternatively you can pick natural frames made of stone or horn.
Horn-rimmed glasses shine with their shimmering surface (in the very sense of the word). Of course you can skip the polishing and leave them silk-matt. But their actual popularity comes down to their high-gloss look. However, on the other side of the coin there are the corpses of Asian and African water buffalos that are not (yet) protected species. For the production of the elaborate horn-rimmed glasses their horns are required, at the cost of their lives. Whether this amount of suffering is worth it – everyone has to decide for themselves. With so many alternatives, from various metals, plastic materials and acetates to wood, in our product range you will certainly find the right glasses that suit you.
