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Crystal Frames

Transparent acetate, from water-clear to smoked crystal. It all but disappears on the face and shows every line of the shape.

20 frames

About Crystal Frames

Twenty-one clear and crystal frames are online, from nine brands. Henau has five, DITA four, Blake Kuwahara three, KUBORAUM, Oscar Mamooi and Piero Massaro two each, and Sabine Be, Gamine and J.F. Rey one apiece. Seventeen are acetate throughout; four pair a crystal front or brow with metal, three of them from DITA.

Crystal acetate is transparent: the plate is cut from a clear block, so the frame shows the lens edge, the hinge and a little of the face behind it. Four frames are plain Crystal, from Henau, Blake Kuwahara and KUBORAUM. The rest are tinted or smoked: Henau’s Green Crystal, Blue Crystal and Champagne Crystal, KUBORAUM’s Frosted Crystal, DITA’s Crystal Night, Oscar Mamooi’s Crystal / Burgundy, and two-tone plates where clear meets colour, such as Piero Massaro’s Aqua / Crystal and Red / Crystal and Sabine Be’s Crystal / White.

Small shapes, mostly round

Round leads with eight frames, then cat-eye with six, square with three, and one each of geometric, rectangular, aviator and oval. The sizes are modest: eye sizes run from 42mm to 57mm with a median of 48mm, and 16 of the 21 sit between 47mm and 52mm. Three are 46mm or under, the smallest being the two Piero Massaro rounds at 42mm; only two are 53mm or more. The size guide at /collections/frame-size-guide explains the numbers.

A crystal frame shows everything, including the lens edge, so read the lens guide before settling on a size. Most of the 21 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.

Do clear frames suit everyone?

Clear is the easiest colour to wear because it takes on the skin tone behind it, which is why the same frame looks warm on one person and cool on another. The shape still matters: a clear round sits differently from a clear cat-eye. Our 21 crystal frames run from 42mm to 57mm across the eye, most between 47mm and 52mm, so they suit small to medium faces best.

Do clear glasses frames turn yellow?

We do not have a brand statement on ageing for these frames, so we will not promise one way or the other. What is true: crystal acetate is cut from a solid plate, so the transparency is the material itself, not a coating that can peel. Keep the frame clean and in its case when it is off your face, and ask us about a particular frame and we will say what the brand says.

Are clear frames a good choice for strong prescriptions?

They show more of the lens than any other colour, including the edge. With a strong prescription that edge is thicker, so your optician may suggest a thinner lens material or a smaller eye size; a 42mm to 48mm crystal round hides more than a 57mm one. Every frame ships as a frame for your optician to glaze, and our lens guide at /collections/lens-guide explains lens materials.

What is the difference between clear and crystal frames?

None in the material; crystal is the name the brands use for transparent acetate, and clear is what people search for. Some crystals are water-clear, others are tinted or smoked: Henau’s Champagne Crystal, KUBORAUM’s Frosted Crystal and DITA’s Crystal Night are all transparent but not colourless. We put every frame with crystal, clear or transparent in its colour name on this page.