Which Cartier frame fits you: Santos, Panthère and the rest, by eye size

Eight questions bring most people to this page. Here are the short answers. The rest of the guide explains them.

• Cartier glasses size guide. The frames in stock run from 51mm to 64mm across the eye, which is 120mm to 141mm in lenses plus bridge. The sizes at a glance table lists the frames at each size.
• Which Cartier glasses fit my face. Read the numbers on the temple of a pair that already fits you. Match the eye size within 2mm and the bridge within 2mm. Chapter two shows how.
• Santos versus Panthère. The brand's site says the Santos de Cartier eyewear pays homage to the Santos watch through its signature motif, the screw. The Panthère de Cartier eyewear celebrates the panther, the brand's emblematic animal. Screw, Santos. Panther, Panthère. Which Cartier line is which, further down, covers the other lines.
• Santos versus Première. The brand's site says the Première de Cartier frames echo its first eyewear styles from the 1980s, in noble materials with a gadroon motif. Santos carries the screw, on the temples and on some models the bridge. Première carries the godron, or gadroon, beside a C at the hinge. Horn and wood temples turn up in Première and in C Décor, so they do not settle the question.
• CT0092O. Gold C Décor rimless rectangle, 52-19-140, 123mm in lenses plus bridge, 28mm deep. The shallowest lens in this guide.
• CT0344O. Gold C Décor rimless rectangle, 56-19-145, 131mm in lenses plus bridge, 33mm deep. A full size up from the CT0092O.
• Cartier rimless glasses in gold. Yes. The gold rimless optical frames in this guide come from four lines: C Décor, in the CT0092O, CT0344O, CT0290O, CT0049O and CT0052O rectangles and the CT0056O oval; Panthère, in the CT0058O rectangle and the CT0120O cat-eye; Première, in the CT0578O and CT0286O; and Double C, in the CT0593O. The table below shows which are in stock now. The nearest to a classic rimless gold rectangle are the CT0092O and the CT0058O (52-18-130, 122mm in lenses plus bridge). The rimless glasses page gathers every rimless frame we have.
• What the model number means. Read on.

Every Cartier frame here carries a code like CT0344O 003. CT is the brand prefix. The four digits are the model. The letter after them is the type. O is optical, a frame for prescription lenses. S is sun. SA is also sun; the CT0506SA and the CT0471SA are both acetate.

The three digits after the space are the colour. One model can come in several. The CT0554O is listed here as 001, Gold, and as 002, Silver. Same 56-18-145 frame, different finish. When you compare prices elsewhere, match the colour code as well as the model, or you are comparing two different frames.

Three numbers describe a frame: eye size, bridge, temple. Eye size is the width of one lens. Bridge is the gap between the lenses. Temple is the arm. Doubling the eye size and adding the bridge gives the lenses plus bridge, the figure in the size chart below, and the quickest way to compare one frame with another.

That figure is not the full width of the frame. The front, hinge to hinge, is wider by its end pieces, and some shops list that wider number as frame width. To compare like with like, do the same sum with the numbers inside your own frame; do not measure across the hinges.

The Cartier frames in stock run from 51mm to 64mm across the eye. The narrow end is the CT0052O (51-18-140), CT0472S (51-21-140) and CT0567O (51-19-140). The wide end is the CT0358S (64-13-145). In lenses plus bridge they run from 120mm to 141mm.

As a rough guide, a frame near 120mm in lenses plus bridge suits a narrow face, one near 130mm an average face, and one near 140mm a wide face, or a face that wants a sunglass to wrap a little. The numbers on a pair that fits you are the better guide. They are printed inside one temple. Find the same numbers in the tables below, and stay within 2mm on eye size and bridge.

Two cautions. First, eye size alone can mislead. The CT0092O (52-19-140) and the CT0056O (52-16-135) share an eye size but differ by 3mm in lenses plus bridge, because their bridges differ. Second, bridge width is not just about fit across the front. A 16mm or 17mm bridge sits closer to the nose than a 20mm or 21mm one. On a fine nose the narrow bridge holds. On a broad one the frame rides high. The bridge column matters as much as the eye size.

The store's frame size guide covers the general method. This page applies it to Cartier.

Cartier sunglasses in stock run from 51mm across the eye, the CT0472S (51-21-140), to 64mm, the CT0358S (64-13-145). The eyeglasses stop at 57mm, so the widest fronts here are sunglasses.

Depth varies as much as width. The deepest sunglass lens in stock is on the CT0434S (54-23-135), at 48mm. The shallowest is on the CT0465S (56-18-145), at 33mm. A deep lens covers more of the face and shades more from the side.

Read a sunglass size the same way as an optical one: eye size, bridge, temple, and lenses plus bridge against a pair that fits you. Cartier sunglasses come with their own tinted lenses. Whether one can be reglazed to your prescription is a question for the optician before you order.

Cartier's site sorts its eyewear into lines, and each line carries its own motif. The model code does not say which line a frame belongs to; the motif does, and it sits in one of a few places: the hinge, where the temple meets the front; the temple itself; or the front and bridge. Cartier's site does not print model codes, so the line given for each code below is the one used by the retailers who list the same code, checked against the motif on the frame.

• C Décor. Cartier's site calls the line Décor C de Cartier. The tell is a C at the hinge, which the brand describes as both decorative and functional: it is part of the hinge. The C Décor models in this guide are all rimless, in gold-finish metal, and most have metal temples ending in acetate tips. On some the C is set into acetate temples; on others the temples are black buffalo horn or wood. C Décor models include the CT0049O, CT0052O, CT0056O, CT0092O, CT0290O and CT0344O optical frames and the CT0330S, CT0465S, CT0466S, CT0579S and CT0582S sunglasses. Some retailers list them as Signature C de Cartier, the wider family name, and Cartier's site shows Décor C pieces on its Signature C page as well.
• Panthère de Cartier. The panther, Cartier's emblem, in one of several forms: a whole pouncing panther sculpted on the temple; a faceted, three-dimensional panther head with enamel details, at the hinge, on the front corners or biting the edge of the lens; the Panthère C with enamel spots on acetate temples; or, on the Panthère Massai design, the head on the front and enamel spots along metal temples. Panthère models include the CT0058O, CT0120O, CT0417O and CT0567O optical frames and the CT0358S, CT0398S, CT0471SA, CT0472S and CT0474S sunglasses.
• Santos de Cartier. The screw. Cartier's site says the line pays homage to the Santos de Cartier watch, which Cartier made for Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1904, through its signature motif, the screw. Look for screw heads on the temples, and on some models on the bridge or the temple tips as well.
• Première de Cartier. The godron, or gadroon, a band of rounded ridges, paired at the hinge with a C. Cartier's site says the line echoes its first eyewear styles from the 1980s. Première models include the CT0286O and CT0578O rimless rectangles, the CT0410O, a double-bridge oval in titanium, and the CT0496O browline, an acetate brow over a metal front.
• Double C de Cartier. Two interlocking Cs, usually as an enamelled medallion on the temple or at the hinge of an acetate frame. Cartier's site lists these designs under C de Cartier. Double C models include the CT0492O optical frame and the CT0434S and CT0506SA sunglasses, all acetate, and the CT0593O, a rimless metal frame with a Double C at each hinge.
• Signature C de Cartier. The widest of these names. Cartier's site uses it for a family page, and some retailers file C Décor frames under it. The CT0291O, a faceted acetate rectangle, is sold under this name; look inside its temple, where a metal core with a godron pattern shows through the acetate.

Some details do not settle the line. A small Double C on the nose pads appears on frames from C Décor, Panthère and Santos alike. Horn and wood temples turn up in C Décor and in Première; buffalo horn frames are often called Buffs, and the Cartier horn and wood page gathers the ones we have. Rimless fronts run across C Décor, Panthère, Première and Double C in this guide; the rimless glasses page gathers every rimless frame we have, Cartier or not. Retailers' nicknames, such as Piccadilly for the CT0092O, are shop names, not Cartier lines.

On the brand's site the Santos de Cartier eyewear is described as sunglasses that pay homage to the iconic Santos de Cartier watch through its signature motif, the screw. The brand's site shows the line in metal and titanium, in golden, platinum and black finishes, and lists a rimless gold rectangle at 56-20-145.

The other squared metal fronts in this guide are C Décor or Première, so a squared gold front alone does not make a frame Santos: look for the screw.

For fit, the wider squared metal fronts run from 55 to 57mm here, whatever the line. The Première CT0578O (55-17-145, 127mm in lenses plus bridge) is the narrowest. The C Décor CT0344O (56-19-145), the Santos CT0554O (56-18-145) and the Première CT0286O (56-17-145) all sit near 130mm in lenses plus bridge. The CT0344O, at 131mm in lenses plus bridge, is the widest optical rectangle in this guide. In sunglasses the same shape comes in C Décor as the CT0465S (56-18-145), the CT0582S (56-19-145) and the CT0579S (57-19-145).

All of these rectangles have 145mm temples. That is a long arm. It suits a larger head and gives room to bend the tip behind the ear. On a small head the tip will overhang, and an optician will need to shorten the bend.

Now the narrow bridge. A 56mm eye with a 17mm bridge, as on the CT0286O, puts the lenses close together and the nose pads close to the face. On a narrow nose this is what holds the frame up. On a wider nose the pads sit high and the frame lifts, so the lenses tilt and the top rim crowds the brow. If your nose is broad, choose the 19mm bridge on the CT0344O over the 17mm on the CT0286O, even though the eye size is the same.

The brand's site describes the Panthère de Cartier eyewear as sunglasses with personality that celebrate the untamable elegance of the panther, and calls the line the heir to its iconic feline. The panther is the brand's emblem, and on this line the frame carries it. The brand's site shows the line in smooth golden and platinum metal, in black acetate, and in composite with metal. It also shows rimless fronts, including a rimless gold rectangle at 56-18-145.

On the frame the panther takes several forms, from a pouncing panther along the temple to a faceted head at the hinge; the chapter on Cartier's lines sets them out. Panthère models with rimless gold fronts include the CT0058O rectangle, the CT0120O cat-eye and the CT0398S and CT0474S sunglasses.

The rimless question matters more than the emblem. A rimless frame has no rim around the lens. The lens is drilled and the bridge and temples bolt to it. That makes the frame light, and it makes the lens do the structural work. A strong prescription is thick at the edge for minus, or thick in the centre for plus. Rimless shows that thickness plainly, and a thick, heavy lens strains the drill points. A light prescription in a rimless frame looks like nothing at all. A strong one looks like glass on a wire.

Rimless is not only a Panthère feature. Among the gold rectangles, the C Décor CT0092O, CT0344O and CT0290O and the Première CT0286O and CT0578O are rimless too, as is the Double C CT0593O. The rimless glasses page gathers every rimless frame we have, from Cartier and other brands. Several have shallow lenses: the CT0092O is 28mm deep, the CT0058O and the CT0052O 32mm, the CT0344O 33mm. Single vision lenses rarely mind that. A progressive needs more depth, and your optician confirms what will work from your measurements. The lens guide explains lens materials and what a strong prescription needs from a frame. Rimless and shallow lenses in practice, further down, covers the depth problem.

A Cartier listing here records one of three materials: metal, acetate, or acetate and metal together, which some listings still call combination. Each behaves differently on the face. The field does not record horn or wood temples, which the end of this chapter covers.

Metal is the lightest on the nose, because the weight sits in the lenses rather than the front. It carries nose pads on arms, which an optician can bend to raise, lower or widen the fit. That is the main reason to choose metal if your nose is unusual, or if two people in your family have different noses and share a face width. Colours include Gold, Silver, Gold / Platinum, Gold / Havana and Gold / Black.

Acetate has a bridge shaped into the front, with no pads. It fits or it does not, and what an optician can do is warm the front and adjust the temples. It is heavier than metal and warmer to the touch. The acetate frames sit at the lower end of the price list; the CT0291O (54-18-145, 126mm in lenses plus bridge) and the CT0472S are two of them. Colours include Havana, Dark Havana, Burgundy, Black / Grey and White / Grey. The CT0434S (54-23-135) has the widest bridge in this guide, 23mm, on a 135mm temple, which is an unusual pairing for a broad nose on a small head.

Acetate and metal covers the CT0496O round (52-21-145, 125mm in lenses plus bridge), the CT0056O oval and the CT0579S sunglass, and the split differs. The CT0496O, a Première browline, has an acetate brow over a gold-finish metal front. The CT0056O and the CT0579S are C Décor and rimless: metal at the front and hinge, acetate in the temples, marbled white on the CT0056O and black on the CT0579S. Check the photographs before you assume where an optician can adjust the fit.

Some gold rimless frames have temples of buffalo horn or wood, though the listing records the material only as metal. The CT0052O, Gold / Red Wood, is C Décor, not Première, and its temples are red laminated wood; the brand's description of the model says each temple is ten thin layers of wood pressed together. The CT0582S sunglass, Gold / Burgundy / Red, is C Décor with wood temples in two tones. The CT0049O (C Décor) and the CT0286O (Première), both listed as Gold / Black, have black buffalo horn temples, and the brand's own copy says each horn frame differs in depth and tone. The Cartier horn and wood page gathers these frames.

Lens height is the depth of the lens top to bottom. The Cartier frames in stock run from 28mm to 52mm where the listing records it. The shallow ones in this guide, all rimless, are the CT0092O at 28mm, the CT0056O at 30mm, the CT0058O and the CT0052O at 32mm, and the CT0344O, the CT0049O and the CT0465S at 33mm.

Single vision does not care about depth. A progressive does. A progressive lens has a distance zone at the top, a reading zone at the bottom and a corridor between them. Your pupil sits in the distance zone, and the reading zone needs room below it. A short-corridor design wants about 14mm from pupil to the lower edge. A comfortable one wants 17mm or 18mm. On a 28mm lens the pupil sits near the middle, which leaves about 14mm below it. That is the minimum, with no margin for a frame that sits a touch high. On a 33mm lens there is room. On a 40mm lens there is plenty.

So on the CT0344O and the CT0049O, at 33mm, a progressive is usually possible with a careful fitting. On the CT0092O, at 28mm, single vision is the easier choice, and a short-corridor progressive is possible only if the measurements allow, fitted by someone who measures rather than guesses. Either way, your optician confirms suitability with your measurements before any lens is cut. If your prescription is strong and you want a progressive, choose from the deeper frames, and choose a rim over rimless.

When is an optician likely to advise against a frame? A rimless front with a high minus prescription, because the edge thickness shows and the drill points carry the load. A prism, in any shallow lens, because prism adds thickness where there is no depth to hide it. The first applies to every rimless frame here, whichever line it comes from; the deeper rimless ones, such as the CT0593O at 50mm, the CT0466S at 44mm and the CT0120O at 40mm, give a stronger prescription more room. The second applies to any shallow lens.

Material, first. The Cartier frames in stock fall into three groups by what they are made of, and each group sits higher on the price list than the one before, though neighbouring groups overlap at the edge. Every listing gives its own price.

• Acetate. The least expensive group: the CT0291O, the CT0492O, the CT0434S, the CT0506SA, the CT0358S, the CT0567O, the CT0471SA and the CT0472S.
• Plain metal, and acetate with metal. The middle group, and the largest: the CT0092O, the CT0344O, the CT0554O and the CT0410O among them, and every other metal frame without horn or wood.
• Metal with horn or wood temples. The top group. The CT0052O, Gold / Red Wood, has laminated red wood temples, and the CT0582S sunglass has two-tone wood temples. The CT0049O and the CT0286O, both listed as Gold / Black, have black buffalo horn temples.

On the horn frames the listing records the material only as metal and the colour as Gold / Black. The black is buffalo horn, not acetate: the material the listing leaves out. Horn and wood also ask more of you. Cartier's care advice keeps water and detergents off horn, and water, greasy substances, make-up and cleaning products off wood, and tells you to keep glasses in their case, away from heat.

Beyond the frames we stock, the brand's site shows precious pieces, such as a pair of Panthère de Cartier sunglasses in rose gold with tsavorite garnets. The Cartier horn and wood page gathers the horn and wood frames we have.

The surest way to choose between a 52 and a 56 is to put both on. Eye See Optique has two shops, in Arlington and Dumfries, Virginia. The visit page has the addresses and directions. Bring your current glasses so the numbers can be compared, and bring your prescription if you have it.

If you order online, the frame ships as a frame, without prescription lenses. Shipping within the United States is free, insured and signed for. Your own optician fits the lenses. If you are local, the Eye Rx practice can fit them. Either way, the person cutting the lenses will want to see the frame on your face to take the fitting heights, which is the measurement the chapter on shallow lenses turns on.

Returns are accepted within seven days of delivery, with a 15% restocking fee. That window is meant for a frame that does not fit, so try it on the day it arrives. Once lenses have been cut for a frame, it is yours.

The size chart above lists every Cartier frame in stock with its model, colour, size, lens height and lenses plus bridge, straight from the listings, and each listing gives the price. Use it with this guide. Where a number here and a number on a product page disagree, the product page is newer.