Our Brands
View this post on Instagram
Handmade in France, Anne et Valentin’s frames are bold and striking, usually with a subtle twist to make them more interesting than standard glasses.
We’ve been stocking them for many years and wearers of their frames invariably report back how pleased they are with them – from receiving compliments from strangers and the attention to detail which contributes to their comfort.
View this post on Instagram
German design, fabulous aviator shapes, made from top-grade titanium with extremely hard ceramic coatings and, unheard of in our industry, they come with a four year guarantee against breakages and other damage.
In 1983, as a freshly qualified ophthalmic optician, I was offered two jobs. One was with Tony Gross in Knightsbridge Green; the other with For Eyes in Covent Garden. I went the For Eyes route as I preferred the idea of working in Covent Garden.
That was a Sliding Doors moment. The important people that I’ve met in my life are all as a consequence of that decision.
However, had I chosen to work at Cutler and Gross I’d have been part of the growth of a great British optical company at the forefront of fashion and ahead of its time. By making glasses fashionable, they altered the faces of generations.
Regrets? Definitely not. Such decisions change lives – and has led to where I am now. I really enjoyed my four years at For Eyes and know that if I had taken the Cutler and Gross job, my life would be significantly different.
My path was cemented with the opening of my shop in Soho as my next major life milestone. Had it not been for my shop, I wouldn’t have met the string of people that eventually led to me meeting my wife Juliet and my children wouldn’t exist. I’m not prepared to risk that even in a game of What If?
Despite me not being at their helm, Cutler and Gross have managed to thrive and their frame range is excellent, designed in London and made in Italy. Highly wearable shapes from a consistently reliable frame-maker.
View this post on Instagram
Founded in Venice Beach and designed at their studio in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, Garrett Leight California Optical is influenced and inspired by the people, places, and stories of California. Each design incorporates the easy-going philosophy of California culture and is stamped with VC/CA 90291 as a reminder of their Venice roots.
We used to introduce Garrett Leight by stating that he’s the son of Larry Leight, the founder of Oliver Peoples, but now he stands on his own.
He’s recently shifted all production to Japan, which ensures high quality craftsmanship and materials.
After Jacques Marie Mage, Garrett Leight is our second most popular brand. We stock the complete range of both optical frames and sunglasses.
View this post on Instagram
A relative newcomer in the world of luxury eyewear, Hug Spectacles embody everything that we embrace about independent companies.
They are created with a combination of state-of-the-art manufacturing, 100 steps of manual craft and years of know-how passed on through generations of the manufacturer’s family.
Hug pay homage to the blues legends of the Mississippi Delta. Each model is named after a musician, such as the Blake, named after Arthur ‘Blind’ Blake; Bessie after Majesty Bessie Smith, and the Dixon after Willie Dixon who played the bass and wrote for Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
The customised rivet detail on the frame front and temples are in the shape of plectrums. Their signature silver and 24k gold temple wire core are subtly visible on the sides. The hinges are perfectly engineered. Details matter.
With green and ethical credentials, Hugs are fairly and sustainably produced in Germany with genuine craftsmanship. Their cases are made from hand-stitched vegetable tanned full grain leather, made in certified Indian artisan workshops. The cleaning cloth is made of recycled PET-bottles.
Adam’s favourite – the Morganfield.
View this post on Instagram
JMM have changed the landscape of modern eyewear. Product designer Jerome Mage has created a brand built on beautiful frame designs with uncompromising quality and limited numbers that it is so highly desirable that many collectors have over twenty pairs.
The hype is deserved. As a keen observer of the optical industry over the last forty years, I’ve never seen a product that comes anywhere close to their desirability.
Produced in small runs from 50 to 500 pieces, each model is created in Japan using a 300-step process. Each frame comes beautifully packaged with its own serial number and certificate.
We were their first UK stockist, and we’re proud to enjoy a close relationship with JMM. We’re the only London-based optician supplying their special collections such as the beautiful Héritage buffalo horn frames and The Last Frontier, incorporating precious metal and gemstone details, inspired by craft traditions of the American West.
We host an annual archive trunk show where we’re supplied with unique and rare pieces that are not normally available for sale.
Adam’s favourite model – the Evans.
View this post on Instagram
Part sculpture, part eyewear, these wouldn’t be out of place in an art gallery. Nonconformist avant-garde objets d’art.
“They are, in effect, cubic rooms (kuboraum in German) always with us – where we can be comfortable with ourselves and the world around us, and feel free to emphasise our personalities”, says Kuboraum’s marketing director. Make of that what you will.
Adam’s favourite – the U6 sunglasses. “Quite possibly the best women’s sunglass shape I’ve ever come across. It’s somehow both round, square and upswept at the same time. Flattering and made from unusual materials including burnt acetate”.
Rea’s favourite – the P8 which she wears in rotation with her JMM Fellini. It’s a tough choice between which suits her best.
View this post on Instagram
We’re proud stockists of La Loop, jewellery designed to keep your glasses on around your neck, but actually wearable just because they look great. We’ve been stockists of La Loop since they started and have enjoyed the growth of their brand and their products over the last twenty-five years.
View this post on Instagram
Handcrafted in France with premium Japanese components, this is a relatively new range for us.
Lazare’s identity is classic, resurrecting spectacle designs rooting in the visual sobriety often found in the midst of the 20th century, although refreshed with a contemporary touch. On the one hand, exclusive signature parts made out of ancestral materials sourced from top-notch Japanese manufacturers, and on the other hand, the unmatched savoir-faire of the eyewear workshops found deep in the Jura mountains of France.
They are completed with a physiological design approach, balanced lines and delicate weight distribution, ensuring each frame will bring perfect comfort once mounted.
Adam’s favourite – Beaufort in Posidonia (which he wears as reading glasses)
Eva’s favourite – Hunter in Gold Digger
View this post on Instagram
Lindberg’s raison d’être is comfort. Everything they do is about simplicity, function, comfort and Danish design.
Their foundational values are design, innovation and personalisation.
Design – minimalist and elegant.
Innovation – cutting-edge materials.
Personalisation – potentially 1.5 billion configurations.
We’ve got a great selection in titanium, buffalo horn, and their unique ultra-light material known as acetanium. Their current collection has got us all a little excited (Shivs mostly, as she’s the resident certified Lindberg expert and megafan).
Each frame is customised to ensure the perfect fit, they’re hand-finished and individually numbered and engraved with (usually) your name. Because of the high degree of customisation, they’re not available online.
If they’re good enough for Steve Jobs, they’re likely to be pretty damn good.
Whilst we’ve largely moved on from rimless styles, their acetate frames are made with the same integrity and quality – featuring luxurious cotton acetate that feels both lightweight and reassuringly solid. Their signature metal-to-metal joints provide additional style and strength.
Adam’s last two pairs of glasses are Lunors and if they’re good enough for him…
View this post on Instagram
In the sixties, this was the brand worn by rock stars and stars of screen and stage. Founded in the 1920s, Oliver Goldsmith is a heritage brand and run by Oliver’s great grand-daughter Claire.
Post-war, they were pretty much the pioneers of fashionable sunglasses. Their current range is classic and includes the iconic frames worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys and Sophia Loren’s classic sunglasses. You can’t buy heritage.
View this post on Instagram
Quirky, colourful, individual, fun – and exclusive to nice independent opticians only. I’ve been proudly selling their frames since my Soho days in the late 1980s. Wearers become used to being stopped in the street to accept compliments on their glasses.
Still family run, I visit Theo in Antwerp from time to time to check out their latest designs and to sample Belgium’s waffles and chocolate. They’ve been using their tag line of Theo Loves You from the beginning, way before every Gen Z brand cottoned on to this phrase, diluting it’s meaning.
Everything Theo does is with love, and it shows.
View this post on Instagram
Adored by beautiful and stylish women all over the world, Thierry himself his treated like a rockstar in France and the States. His sunglass designs adorn the most beautiful female faces although he has expanded his range for men, that make even people like me look good.
He has a small optical collection as well that are flattering in the extreme.