Reviews

The harmonious colours, relaxing ambiance and natural beauty of the ‘Stadtgarten’, (in English, ‘city parks’) are behind a new line in acetate with titanium, by Coblens Eyewear (Germany). The company is known for its exclusive crafted titanium designs, and with Stadtgarten, it adds a new element to the design and presentation of the line, with a pure, translucent and colourful Japanese acetate.

Above: a new elegantly styled campaign identity illustrating the look, colour mix and fit of the frames on different faces. Model Rosengarten – pictured in a two-tone bold blue with translucent cappuccino hue was released this month. A deep square-ish eye shape with cat eye corners on the upper rim, the frame is also distinguished by visible vintage style rivets, two at each corner.

Coblens is a German eyewear design company named after its city of origin, Koblenz (in old French Coblence). The brand has become a leading innovator in fashionable high-quality titanium frames, led by Ralf Schmidt and Nils Kaesemann.

All titanium materials by Coblens have exclusive PVD titanium coatings to achieve a wide range of special tonalities and to ensure a high-quality scratch-resistant, corrosion-resistant finish. For more information: www.coblens.com

As usual, the UK label Kirk & Kirk have something new up their sleeve, and here it is, in time for a London showing at 100% Optical trade fair: the Matt Centena. Centena is a collection of frames uniquely produced from lightweight 100mm acrylic in bold statement colours and exciting finishes.

The new additions have a modern matt surface finish, and a chunky retro-inspired structure for the face – an on-trend twist in the line is the metal detail at the top of the double bridge – a different, new-look feature for Kirk & Kirk. For colours, the Matt Centena collection includes bold ‘Cosmic’ blue and forest green (typical Kirk brights), while chic versions in black and tortoise are well suited to eyewear traditionalists who need strong well defined, structured frame styling.

Kirk & Kirk frames are seeing much celebrity endorsement success in the US, with new sightings of Robert Downey Jr wearing several styles (not just one but four different styles!): model Cecil in Jade, model Victor in Apple and Purple and model Carter in Spectrum. The new Matt Centena line is showing at 100% Optical (London – www.100percentoptical.com) and Mido (the Milan trade fair) and will be in shops shortly! More details can be found at www.kirkandkirk.com

A bold and characteristic vintage-inspired design, direct from Sabae, Japan, TVR has put out yet another statement look based on 1950s and 60s “classic” characteristics, as part of their JD collection line.

Creating the Black Tortoise and Brown Clear front and temples with a flawless finish, TVR® has perfected specific artisanal techniques. The styling is that made famous by icons of the cinema: James Dean, and more recently Brad Pitt in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’.

This special edition comes from the hand of a particular master craftsman in Sabae. Sawada-Yaemon is from a family of highly skilled artisans whose heritage dates back to the Edo period. Sawada-Yaemon holds strongly to his multi-generational reputation and his family’s work in perfecting the the TVR Arnel shape using traditional measuring techniques. For more details visit www.tvropt.com

The first stylish eyewear wallet, by Quentin Stubbe

For those of us who love our frames, and travel or move about regularly, Beaumour Paris is an exciting new accessories entry, with products in leather produced by hand. The star of the line is an eyewear wallet – the first of its kind, designed to accommodate all the essentials: while it has the form of a “classic” specs case it opens neatly into a wallet with space to protect your glasses or sunglasses.

The wallet can hold a frame and up to 10 cards, with space for banknotes, tickets or an ID card. Built inside the lining is an RFID system, an effective protection against contactless credit card hacking.

About the designer: Quentin Stubbe is passionate about style and quality, and has studied luxury leather production and bootmaking. He launched Beaumour Paris in 2019 and has quickly received orders for his innovative leather goods, and the first good-looking Eyewear Wallet. The product range, which also includes a card holder glasses case, is available online at www.beaumour-paris.com and through over 150 opticians in Europe. Beaumour Paris will exhibit for the first time at Mido in Milan in February. For more information about Beaumour visit www.beaumour-paris.com