The J.F. Rey Fit Guide: Eye Sizes, Sub-Lines and How the Colour Works

J.F. Rey is a French eyewear brand based in Marseille. Its own site puts the date plainly: "In 1995, J.F. REY became a brand in its own right", and says that "for forty years, J.F. REY has been designing eyewear." The founder is Jean-François Rey, and the site describes him as having developed, in Marseille, "a personal language of graphic structures, contrasts and colour."

That last word is the one that matters when you open the box. We hold 21 J.F. Rey frames, and not one of them has a single-colour name. Every one carries at least two colours: Green / Purple, Purple Tortoise / Green, Tortoise / Azure Blue, Black / Orange, Striped Green / Khaki, Green Textile / Orange, Black Pixel / Red, Pink / Leopard. Two carry three — the Virginia in Gradient Blue / Green / Crystal, and the JF3117 in Gradient Black / Brown / Purple.

The brand's account of its own materials is short and useful. Of acetate it says: "For depth of colour, intricate cutting and the sculpting of volume." Of metal: "Titanium, stainless steel and aluminium allow for precise, refined and lightweight structures." And of the range as a whole: "Each collection explores a new relationship between the face, shape, material and colour." Read that against our shelf and it holds up. The acetate frames are thick and cut. The metal ones are thin and drawn.

What makes a J.F. Rey physically different from most frames at this price is that the second colour is structural rather than decorative. Acetate is cut from a solid plate, so, as our listings put it, the colour is in the material and not painted onto it. When a frame is described here as purple tortoise and green, the green is a layer of the plate. You see it on the cut edge of the rim and on the inside of the temple as much as on the front. Delete the sentence. If the paragraph needs a closing line, use: "That is the whole point of the material, and it is why the brand's own site talks about the depth of colour before it talks about shape."

Fifteen distinct models make up the 21 frames we hold. Twelve are numbered — JF followed by four digits — and three carry names: Madison, Virginia and Charlotte. The split is not cosmetic. All three named models on our shelf are acetate, and all three are $590.

The numbers fall into three bands. JF1546, JF1567, JF1576 and JF1580 are the JF1 series: four models, four frames, acetate throughout, and all four at $690. JF2832, JF2935, JF2978 and JF2995 are the JF2 series: four models, five frames, every one of them $590. JF3007, JF3078, JF3117 and JF3121 are the JF3 series: four models, six frames, five of them metal. It is a rough rule rather than a law, but it holds across everything we have.

After the model comes a four-digit colour code, and that is the part people miss when they search. We hold the Virginia in three of them. The brand publishes the codes as numbers only; in our listings, 0060 is black and orange, 9882 is tortoise and fuchsia, and 2614 is the gradient blue, green and crystal. Same shape, same 53–18–143 measurements, three entirely different frames on a face. Five of our fifteen models are in stock in more than one colour: Virginia in three, and Charlotte, JF2995, JF3007 and JF3117 in two each.

The brand's site is worth reading on individual models. It places Virginia in its 1985 collection and calls it an oversize butterfly frame in high-quality acetate, with translucent and gradient tones that let light pass through the frame. Madison it describes as a "full acetate frame, distinctive look and characterful design", with "exclusive bi-material colors, translucent hues and revisited scale colors". Of JF3117: "A graphic, contemporary silhouette where matte or satin shades mingle with brighter hues to create a vibrant palette." Of JF1580: "This model showcases the depth of acetate through a play of sculpted volumes and refined transparencies." Our own tag for the Virginia shape is cat-eye rather than butterfly. It is the same frame.

One further line. The brand runs a collection it calls Petite, "designed for slender faces, offering a comfortable fit and highlighting delicate features". None of the 21 frames here is listed as a Petite, though three are tagged Narrow in our own stock. The table below sorts everything by eye size, so you can find them.

Eye sizes run from 45mm to 54mm across the 21 frames, and the distribution is tighter than that range suggests. Two at 45mm, one at 46mm, two at 47mm, two at 49mm, two at 50mm, two at 51mm, five at 52mm, three at 53mm and two at 54mm. There is nothing at 48mm. Fourteen of the 21 sit between 49mm and 53mm, and the median is 51mm.

Eye size on its own is not what you feel on a face. Across the front is eye size twice plus the bridge, and it is approximate, so we say "about". On that measure the range here is about 112mm to about 126mm — a spread of 14mm across the whole brand on our shelf.

The narrowest front is the JF2935 in green textile and orange: a 45mm eye with a 22mm bridge, about 112mm across, on 144mm temples. Next is JF1580 in striped brown and blue at 45–23–140, about 113mm. Then JF1576 in purple tortoise and green at 46–23–140, about 115mm. Those three are the frames we tag Narrow.

At the other end, three frames tie at about 126mm: the JF3078 in gunmetal and blue at 54–18–145, and both JF2995s — including the JF2995 in pink and leopard — at 52–22–143. That second one is the lesson of the whole chapter. A 52mm eye on a 22mm bridge covers more face than a 54mm eye on an 18mm bridge. If you know your numbers from a frame you already own, compare the whole front, not the first figure.

Five frames carry our Wide tag: JF3078 and the Madison at 54mm, and all three Virginias at 53mm. Between the narrowest and the widest there is less than the width of a thumbnail, which is worth holding on to. Almost everything in this brand is wearable by almost anyone; the shape is what decides it.

Ten of the 21 are acetate, six are metal, and five combine the two.

On the acetate: the plate is cut, milled and polished, which is what gives an acetate rim its depth of colour. No two plates are identical, so a colour is never exactly repeated. Because the plate is cut rather than moulded, the pattern runs right through the thickness of the rim. Acetate has weight to it, and our listings note that it holds an adjustment once an optician has set it, and warms to the face as you wear it. The ten acetate frames are JF1546, JF1567, JF1576, JF1580, the Madison, all three Virginias and both Charlottes.

On the metal: a metal rim gives a shape its line without the weight of a thick front, and the rim can stay fine and still hold a lens square. A metal frame puts less material between the eye and the world, so it takes up less of the face than its size suggests. Six are metal — JF3078, both JF3117s, JF2832 and both JF3007s. The JF3007 in blue and orange is the clearest case of the type: a 47mm round on a 23mm bridge with 145mm temples, drawn rather than built.

The five combination frames — both JF2995s, JF2978, JF2935 and JF3121 — use acetate for the part that shows and metal for the part that has to hold. The two halves are made separately, then brought together in one front. It is the most involved of the three constructions, and on our shelf it is also the least expensive: four of the five are $590.

Price does not track material here. Of the ten acetate frames, four are $690 and six are $590. Of the six metal frames, three and three. Buy the frame, not the material.

Five shapes, unevenly spread: seven round, five geometric, four square, four cat-eye and one oval.

Round is the largest group and, usefully, the smallest sizes. The seven are JF1580 at 45mm, JF2935 at 45mm, both JF3007s at 47mm, JF1546 at 49mm, JF2978 at 49mm and JF1567 at 50mm. Nothing round here goes above 50mm. If you have a short face, or you have been told your frames sit too wide, the round group is where to start. A round eye also softens a square jaw, which is the oldest rule in the shop and still a fair one.

The five geometric frames are the faceted ones: JF3078 at 54mm, both JF3117s at 51mm, and both JF2995s at 52mm. Faceted means the rim changes direction where a round frame would curve. They give a face angles it does not have, which is why they sit well on softer and rounder faces, and they read as a drawn line rather than a block.

Four are softly squared: JF1576 at 46mm, the Madison at 54mm, and both Charlottes at 52mm — the yellow and orange one measures 52–21–143 with a 48mm lens. A squared front is the easiest kind to wear and the least particular about face shape.

Four are cat-eye: the three Virginias at 53mm and JF2832 at 52mm. The Virginias are acetate, JF2832 is metal in navy and purple, and that changes the effect entirely — the same lift, half the presence.

One is oval: the JF3121 in black and red, 50–21–140, acetate and metal. Its lens is 37mm from top to bottom, the shallowest of anything we hold in the brand, which makes it the lowest-profile frame on the shelf and the one that asks least of a face.

Three numbers decide whether a frame sits: the bridge, the temple and the lens height.

Bridges run from 16mm to 23mm. The narrowest is the Madison in tortoise and azure blue at 16mm, paired with a 54mm eye — a wide front on a close-set bridge. The widest are 23mm, on four frames: JF1576, JF1580 and both JF3007s. The rest fall in between: five at 18mm, four at 21mm, three at 20mm, three at 22mm and one at 19mm. A bridge that is too narrow pinches and leaves a mark. Too wide and the frame slides. If you know the bridge that works on a frame you already own, that single number will rule out half of this list before you try anything on.

Temples run from 138mm to 145mm. Nine of the 21 are 143mm, which is the middle of the ordinary range. Six are 145mm. Three are 140mm, one is 142mm, one is 144mm, and one — the JF1546 in green and purple, at 49–20 — is 138mm, the shortest temple we hold in the brand. Temple length is the most adjustable of the three, since an optician can set the drop to suit an ear, but it is still worth knowing: a 145mm temple on a small head will sit long until it has been adjusted.

Lens height runs from 37mm to 50mm. The tallest is the JF3117 in gradient black, brown and purple at 50mm, on a 51mm eye. The shallowest is the JF3121 at 37mm. Six frames sit at 46mm, four at 45mm, three at 48mm, three at 41mm, two at 50mm, and one each at 37mm, 39mm and 47mm. Height is what decides how much cheek a frame covers and how close the lower rim comes to the top of the nose. It is also the number that matters most if you wear a progressive lens, which is the next chapter.

We ship frames only. We do not sell prescription lenses online. Every frame here arrives new and sealed with demo lenses fitted, and a demo lens is a blank — it comes out when your lens goes in. Glazing happens at our Arlington or Dumfries shop, or at your own optician, who will take the measurements off your face with the frame on it.

Three things are worth checking with whoever will glaze it.

First, lens height. All 21 of these are optical frames; none is a sunglass. Sixteen have a lens 45mm deep or more, which gives a lens designer room to work. Five are shallower: JF3121 at 37mm, JF2935 at 39mm, and JF1576, JF3078 and JF1580 at 41mm. Whether a shallow frame works with a particular progressive depends on the lens design and on how you sit in the frame, so ask rather than assume. We will not guess that for you.

Second, the width of the front. A 126mm front and a 112mm front do different things to the same prescription, because the further from centre a lens runs, the thicker its edge. If your prescription is a strong one, the smaller eyes here — the 45mm, 46mm and 47mm frames — are the ones to look at first.

Third, the build. Our listings note that acetate has weight and holds an adjustment once an optician has set it, and that a metal rim can stay fine and still hold a lens square. Both take a prescription. Which one suits yours is a question for the person cutting the lens, not for a product page.

Buy from us and bring it in, or bring in the frame you already have and compare. Either way the fitting is done on a face, not on a screen.

There are two prices across the J.F. Rey frames we stock. Thirteen are $590 and eight are $690. Nothing here is reduced, and nothing here is second-hand: all 21 are listed new and sealed, with demo lenses in place.

The eight at $690 are JF1546, JF1567, JF1576, JF1580, JF3078, both JF3117s and JF3121. The thirteen at $590 are the Madison, all three Virginias, both Charlottes, both JF2995s, both JF3007s, JF2832, JF2978 and JF2935.

A plate of acetate is never cut twice the same, so a colour code is never exactly repeated, and when the last of one sells it is gone. That is true of everything in the shop, and it is more visibly true of a brand that puts two or three colours into a single front.

The table above lists everything in stock, sorted by eye size, and it keeps itself current. If a frame is on it, we have it. The sensible way in is to start from a number you already trust — the bridge of the frame on your face right now is the most useful figure you own — then narrow by shape, then look at colour last, because colour is the part you will change your mind about.

If you are near either shop, come and try them. Colour on this brand does not photograph honestly. The gradients, the cut edges and the second colour on the inside of a temple are exactly what a screen flattens, and a pixel frame or a leopard inlay looks like a different object in the hand. We ship across the US, and the frame arrives ready for your optician.