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The Super Concentric Collection from Warby Parker are sure to turn some heads! This newest collection is lavished with layers. Italian craftsmanship and a very special (very lengthy, too) production magnify their innate texture and warmth. Crafted in Italy, these newest designs—and most complex to date—possess a versatility that swings from polished to unconventional.
The original Concentric Collection, back in 2014, featured an unexpected detail: a bold ring of acetate around the lenses, fashioned out of a complementary hue. Warby Parker loved how they turned out—and customers did too—and, still preoccupied with the interplay of color, Warby started designing what would become our Super Concentric frames. (This next rendition, as you’ll see, took some time to achieve.)
This latest chapter of frames is filled with more nuances, and super, both in English and Italian, speaks to the heightened progression of the technique. Like its predecessors, the Super Concentric frames are constructed in the vineyard-laced hills of northern Italy, at a factory with the proprietary technology to bring Warby’s designs to life. Warby Parker’s excitement about these frames was boundless, but many factories said their idea would be impossible to pull off. Fortunately, Warby found a collaborator with the patience to fine-tune the method, enthusiasm to perfect the intricacies and craftsmanship—a long, familial history in eyewear—to see this through. Their expertise specific to this production is second to none.
Seven pieces of acetate in three colors are seamlessly integrated to create each pair’s face front, nicely rounded out by striking temples. Crystal is punctuated with Oak Barrel rings around the lenses and a delicate line extending to the temple, atop a piece of Blue Bay just above the cheeks. While these hues will never be out of place or time, the composition is unforeseen and fresh.
With so many moving pieces (literally, the cuts of acetate; less literally, the complex production), precision is paramount. After the pieces of acetate are machine-chiseled and placed together by hand, they’re delicately fused together, slowly…and not all at once. In between, there’s a resting period of weeks. Additional cuts are fit into the acetate puzzle and then, more rest. (And so on.) All in all, months go by. Anything less and you risk a rushed frame, absent the pristine definition between colors.
Warby Parker traveled to the factory and captured the elaborate process, from the acetate selection to the final hand-polishing.
Frames start at $195, with prescription lenses. As always, for every pair of glasses purchased, a pair is distributed to someone in need. Check out the Warby Parker Super Concentric Collection.
