Cartier Eyeglasses and Sunglasses

Thirty-four Cartier frames are online. Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier and became the jeweler that kings, and later film stars, went to; eyewear followed in 1983 with the Vendôme and the Must, built the way the jewelry was, in 18-carat gold, platinum and later bubinga wood. The Santos line takes the screws from the bezel of the Santos watch, drawn in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, and sets them along the temples; the Panthère carries the panther that has run through Cartier’s jewelry since the 1910s.

Twenty-two of the 34 are metal, eight are acetate and four combine the two. Gold is in the colour name of 24 frames, from plain Gold on eight 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.

The widest frames in the store

Cartier frames run large. Eye sizes go from 51mm to 64mm with a median of 56mm, and 27 of the 34 measure 53mm or more; the 64mm rectangle is the widest frame we hold. Rectangular is the shape of half the range, 17 frames, then cat-eye and geometric with five each, square with three, oval with two, and one aviator and one round. Metal keeps the rim thin, 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.