Cartier Glasses and Sunglasses

Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier and became the jeweller that kings, and later film stars, went to; eyewear followed in 1983 with the Vendôme and the Must, built the way the jewellery was. The Santos de Cartier line carries the screw motif of the Santos watch, drawn in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont; the Panthère carries the panther that has run through Cartier’s jewellery since the 1910s.

Most are metal; the rest are acetate or combine the two. Gold is in most of the colour names, from plain Gold through Gold / Black, Gold / Green, Gold / Platinum, Gold / Havana, Gold / Red Wood and Gold / Violet. The acetates are Havana, Dark Havana, Burgundy and Black / Grey. Gold here is the colour as Cartier names it; ask us about a particular frame for what the brand says it is made of. Frames with buffalo horn or wood temples are listed together under Cartier horn and wood glasses.

The widest frames in the store

Cartier frames run large. Eye sizes go from 51mm to 64mm with a median of 56mm, and most measure 53mm or more; the 64mm rectangle is the widest frame we hold. Rectangular is the shape of about half the range, then cat-eye and geometric, with square, oval, aviator and round making up the rest. Many of the metal frames are rimless, the lenses drilled and held at the bridge and hinges, which is why a 56mm gold Cartier sits lighter on the face than its number suggests.

Almost every Cartier frame here is one of a kind. It ships as a frame, insured and free within the US, with a signature required on delivery, and your own optician fits the lenses; returns are accepted within seven days of delivery, less a 15 percent restocking charge.