By Denis Langlois
Most people steer clear of heavy, clunky frames.
This is something that eyewear companies, eyecare professionals and consumers know all too well.
As a result, frame designers and manufacturers are continually developing eyewear in materials and with construction features that make them lighter than ever before.
Zeiss, which produces both lenses and frames, puts it perfectly – “The lighter spectacles are, the more comfortable they are to wear. Optimum comfort is achieved by making the frame and lenses as lightweight as possible.”
The promise of lightweight, forget-they’re-even-there frames is definitely a big selling feature.
The collections available to Canadian ECPs by Alternative/Plan “B” Eyewear include many lightweight frames.
The Staag men’s collection, for example, features styles made from titanium that are “extremely lightweight yet durable,” according to Alternative/Plan “B” Eyewear’s Cassandra Slepian.
Staag Fife
Staag models Ike, Elliott and Fife boast classic aviator or round shapes that are exaggerated with slight modern twists to elevate the look.
Alternative/Plan “B” has also recently begun distributing iGreen custom frames in Canada.
“These frames are exceptionally lightweight to the point where it almost feels like you’re wearing nothing,” Slepian says.
“They are made with a mix of lightweight polyamide and acetate. This collection offers a variety of ready-made styles but it is also completely customizable meaning patients can choose their temple and front colours, eye shape, size, et cetera. Completely unique to the person designing it.”
Toronto-based Specsy, meanwhile, says its Digital Concrete custom frames, which the company officially launched in the fall, weight an average of just six grams each.
They will be “one of the most lightweight frames you’ve ever worn,” Specsy says.
Specsy Digital Concrete
“Specsy will change the way that consumers approach frame design and comfort by creating a custom one-of-a-kind frame that not only possess superior durability capabilities, but also weighs significantly less than a typical acetate frame,” says Milan Madhavji, Specsy’s chief technology officer.
The Safilo Lente 02 frames are among the lightweight frames available by Safilo.
The round optical frame is crafted in titanium, a material recognized for its high strength-to-weight ratio. Strong with low density and quite ductile, titanium is the perfect material for light, durable and elegant eyeglasses, Safilo says.
The temples of the Lente 02 feature the strong and flexible e-hinge: the new titanium Elasta hinge with its innovative double springs system, guaranteeing 15 years of impeccable performance.
The style is available in matte blue, matte black and palladium.
Polaroid, which joined the Safilo brand in 2012, has also launched ultra-lightweight metal shapes for women as part of its fall/winter 2018 collection.
PLD 6057/S
They include the PLD 6057/S, which are lightweight geometric stainless steel sunglasses that are available in blue with grey lenses, white with brown shaded lenses, green with green lenses, pink with pink lenses and black with grey shaded lenses.
Xavier Garcia’s new fall/winter metal collection also focuses on frames that are lightweight and easy-to-wear as well as enduring.
Alex
The collection includes the Alison, a classic, rectangular, semi-rimless shape that is made with stainless steel, as well as the Alex, a round shape frame with a discrete cat eye and a chic, retro feel.
The Canadian company Prisme Optical Group is now distributing seven collections of the Danish eyewear brand Nine, which creates extremely light titanium eyeglasses.
Nine Five 2600
In fact, the company is called Nine because all of its frames, no matter their shape, colour or materials, must weight nine grams or less.
Perfectly adaptable to the needs of every client, the seven collections Nine, Nine Edge, Nine 3rd, Nine Origin, Nine IBT, Nine Five and Nine Sun are a blend of lightness and utmost comfort.
ic! Berlin has added five new, extremely light prescription frames to its Silk collection. The new models feature screwless hinges and the brand’s thinnest temples yet.
