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Made in Italy

Cut and finished in Italy, from the factories in the Dolomites to the workshops around Venice.

Read: Italian eyewear brands

164 frames

About Made in Italy

Made in Italy is the largest origin page here. KUBORAUM accounts for most of it, designed in Berlin and handmade in Italy. Res/Rei’s frames are made with local manufacturers around Treviso. Blackfin makes titanium frames from start to finish in Agordo, in the Dolomites. Oscar Mamooi is run from Mestre on the Venice mainland, and Gamine is designed in New York and handcrafted in Italy. Piero Massaro’s frames are handmade in the Venice area.

Only brands with a verified Made in Italy fact are here. A brand that does not state where its frames are made is on no origin page at all, which is why Cartier, Oliver Peoples and J.F. Rey are absent.

What these brands make

Most are acetate, with metal next and a few that combine the two. The acetate is where Italian frame-making shows: KUBORAUM’s masks, Res/Rei’s patterned plates, Oscar Mamooi’s faceted fronts and Gamine’s acetate, all cut from a solid plate so the colour runs through the rim. The metal is almost all Blackfin’s titanium, with a handful of KUBORAUM and Gamine frames.

Round is the most common shape, then square, cat-eye and geometric, with oval, rectangular and aviator behind. Eye sizes run from 39mm to 56mm with a median of 50mm, most between 47mm and 52mm. Most are one of a kind and ship as frames, free and insured within the US, for your optician to glaze.

Which glasses brands are made in Italy?

Of the brands we stock, six state that their frames are made in Italy: KUBORAUM, Res/Rei, Blackfin, Oscar Mamooi, Gamine and Piero Massaro. We only place a brand on this page when the brand itself says where its frames are made, so a brand without that statement is left off rather than guessed at.

Are KUBORAUM frames made in Italy?

Yes. KUBORAUM was founded in Berlin in 2012, and the name is German for cubic room, but every frame is handmade in Italy. That is why every KUBORAUM frame online is on this page. The brand calls its frames masks and pairs Italian craft with the ideas of a Berlin studio. Most are acetate, cut from a solid plate, with a few in metal.

Are Italian glasses frames better quality?

Agordo sits at the heart of Italy’s eyewear district, and the brands here make in that tradition: Blackfin has made titanium in Agordo since 1991, and Piero Massaro and Oscar Mamooi work around Venice. Quality still varies by brand and by frame rather than by country. Read the listing, and ask us about a particular frame if you want more.

Can I get prescription lenses in these frames?

Yes. Every frame ships as a frame, and your own optician fits lenses to your prescription. That is true whether the frame is acetate, which hides a thicker lens edge, or Blackfin titanium, where a thinner lens material may be suggested. Our lens guide explains the options, and the Eye Rx practice at either of our shops can glaze and adjust.