I am passionate about Persol and their dedication for spending the past 92 years creating pieces of eye wear art. Today, Persol glasses are still manufactured by hand with the same attention to detail and care since their beginnings.
The “A Work of Persol” Project is about celebrating dedication to artistic processes by collaborating with seventeen personally unique artists of all art kinds from around the world, to bring together their artwork in a “moving Persol gallery” and will inspire a new eye wear collection.
I admire the work and creative vision of one of the selected artists Tjorg Douglas Beer. You can check out his Persol video and the rest of the artists here
What does make Persol special? Here’s some frequent Q&A’s regarding this “For Sun” pieces of art:
What are the lines at the side of Persol styles?
- It’s referred to as Meflecto! It’s the world’s first flexible arm system designed for maximum comfort by eliminating pressure on the head from the arms of the glasses (perfect for wider faces). The Meflecto system allows the glasses to adapt to the unique shape of any face. It was patented at the end of the 1930’s and still today represents a unsurpassed technological solution! In terms of production; the Meflecto system involves inserting nylon or metal cylinders into an acetate stem, intersecting them with a flexible core of harmonic steel. The process requires over 10 workings steps compared to that of a normal frame. To make it easier for those who might not understand the huge words above - The system allows the arm to bend comfortably for the wearer!
What’s with the Arrow?
- Persol’s founder Giuseppe Ratti instincitvely recognised the need to be different - to make his products more iconic and recognisable! At the end of the 1930’s, swords of ancient warriors inspired the Arrow symbol :)
How are they made?
- The entire process of making Persol still takes place in the historic Lauriano factory where many of the steps of production still involve handcrafting. This has allowed the company to marry technological solutions with a rich tradition of craftsmanship to create glasses of the highest quality. The average length of time needed to produce a Persol frame is almost double that of simple acetate frames because the process to make the Arrow and Melfecto system (remember both unique to Persol) cannot be made by machine and instead require hand work.
What makes their plastic frames so special compared to other brands?
- In Persol plastic frames, they use a natural acetate that’s made by cotton flowers! The cotton is pulverized and treated to take form of a perfect mass. The end product contains cotton’s natural properties - allergy free, warm to touch and pleasant on the skin for optimum comfort. Using a natural material allows Persol to create colour variations that can only be found in Persol products and infact Persol has countless patents and trademarks that are exclusive to Persol. Persol acetate is also less likley to shrink over time.
What’s with their nosebridges in plastic styles - why do some people like them better?
- Through a special process called “telatura” that consists of eliminating the edges on the underside of the bridge to make the fit more comfortable and so that the weight of the glasses across their entire surface is evenly distributed. It’s a manual process that was first introduced when Giuseppi Ratti still ran the company and is still applied to with the same precision and attention today.
- T xo
(Source: persol.com)
