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Acetate Frames

Frames cut from acetate, the material that carries colour and pattern the way metal cannot.

206 frames

About Acetate Frames

Acetate is what most of the store is made of: 210 of the 311 frames online, from fourteen brands. KUBORAUM alone accounts for 65 of them, Henau for 31, and Sabine Be, Blake Kuwahara and Res/Rei for around twenty each. Henau, Res/Rei and Oliver Peoples send us nothing but acetate, so their whole ranges sit on this page. Behind them come J.F. Rey, Traction Productions, Cartier, Oscar Mamooi, Piero Massaro, Gamine, Matsuda and a single frame from DITA.

Every shape is here in numbers: 56 rounds, 40 squares, 38 cat-eyes, 31 geometrics, 18 ovals, 18 rectangles and nine aviators. Eye sizes run from 35mm to 64mm; 34 frames are 46mm or under, 127 sit between 47mm and 52mm, and 49 are 53mm or more. Whatever your current pair reads inside the left arm, there is a match within a millimetre or two.

Why acetate

An acetate frame is cut from a solid plate, not moulded, so the colour runs all the way through the rim and cannot chip off to reveal another colour underneath. A tortoise pattern, a stripe, a translucent crystal or Gamine’s Mazzucchelli plate is the same at the edge of the lens as it is on the temple. The same plate warms and holds its shape, which is what lets an optician adjust the bridge and the temples to your face and have the adjustment last.

Black shine and black matt are the most common names, on 21 frames, then red on seven, followed by havana, tortoise and crystal. Most frames are one of a kind. Each ships as a frame, free and insured within the US with a signature on delivery, for your own optician to glaze.

Is acetate better than plastic for glasses?

Acetate is a plastic, but a particular kind. It is cut from a solid plate rather than injection-moulded, which is why the colour and pattern run through the whole rim instead of sitting on the surface, and why an optician can warm it and adjust the fit. All 210 acetate frames here are cut from plate, and the colour you see is the colour all the way through.

Do acetate frames stretch or loosen over time?

Any frame can loosen with wear, but acetate is the material an optician can bring back. The plate softens with gentle heat, is bent to the face and holds that shape when it cools, so a frame that has widened can be closed up again. Both of our shops belong to the Eye Rx practice, where fittings and adjustments happen, and any optician can do the same.

Are acetate frames heavier than metal?

Usually, yes, because the rim is thicker; metal keeps a rim thin, and titanium is lighter still. The weight of any frame sits on the bridge, so a well-fitted acetate frame with the right bridge width is comfortable all day; a badly fitted one is not. The size guide at /collections/frame-size-guide explains the bridge number.

Can acetate frames take prescription lenses?

Yes. Every acetate frame here ships as a frame, and your own optician fits the lenses. A full acetate rim hides the edge of a thicker lens better than a thin metal one, which makes it the usual recommendation for stronger prescriptions. Our lens guide at /collections/lens-guide explains lens materials and coatings. If you are near a shop, the Eye Rx practice can glaze and fit.