# Persol eyewear



## Packard (Apr 24, 2009)

I read that Persol sunglasses have lenses made from quartz crystal just like watch faces are made. This would make them nearly scratch-proof.

Questions:

*1.* Is the color of the lens a coating (that could scratch) or is the crystal dyed through an through?

*2.* Is Persol the only eyeglass manufacturer using quartz crystal?

*3.* Does anyone have recommendations regarding Persol eye wear?


----------



## rbstc123 (Jun 13, 2007)

I own 2 pair of Persol sunglasses and my wife owns a pair. I cannot answer your questons regarding the quartz lenses but I will say we love our Persols. No scratches thus far but I am not too hard on my sunglasses.


----------



## misterdonuts (Feb 15, 2008)

If the lenses were made of quartz crystal, you would need a very prominent and strong nose to hold up the shades. And, that would be the least of your worries because it would not be easy to see anything beyond the lenses.

Also, I am not aware of any watches that have a quartz crystal face, assuming that you use the commonly used term "face" to mean "dial." If you actually meant the transparent piece lying above the dial and held by the upper portion of the case, which is known as the "crystal," then I think you might be thinking of colourless sapphire (synthetic). I do not know of anyone who makes eyewear lenses out of sapphire.


----------



## Packard (Apr 24, 2009)

I went to Persol's website, and they indicate that the lenses are dyed through and through.

Except for the polarizing lenses which have a film between two layers of the crystal.

They claim to make the crystal themselves.

Read the "Persol Story" (the 1980 to present) for this.

https://www.persol.com/Usa/home.asp


----------



## cpac (Mar 25, 2005)

I have a pair of persols and love them - great glasses.

That said, their lenses are not made of quartz or sapphire, and their website does not indicate anything to the contrary - indeed it says "glass" in places and "crystal" in others, which amount to the same thing - glass lenses, not plastic like, say oakley, etc. This is nice in some respects, but is heavier and more bulky too.

To answer your questions then:

(1) the color of the lens will not scratch off.

(2) Per the above, Persol doesn't use quartz. Maui Jim also uses quite a bit of glass, as do a few others. I think you can get some ray bans with glass lenses, but not all.

(3) Great glasses, I like mine.


----------



## Packard (Apr 24, 2009)

cpac said:


> I have a pair of persols and love them - great glasses.
> 
> That said, their lenses are not made of quartz or sapphire, and their website does not indicate anything to the contrary - indeed it says "glass" in places and "crystal" in others, which amount to the same thing - glass lenses, not plastic like, say oakley, etc. This is nice in some respects, but is heavier and more bulky too.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the responses.

Are they any better than my Raybans? (Aside from the style issues, I mean.)


----------



## misterdonuts (Feb 15, 2008)

You should know that the term "crystal" is used to describe various materials in a solid state, including but not limited to quartz, glass, sugar, diamond, et al. As far as I can tell, there is no mention of quartz on their web site and, I might add, for a good reason. What they do mention is that their crystal was made from the purest silica, which is a long way of saying glass.

I have post-Luxotica models as well as a pre-Luxotica model that I have had for about 27 years. The former came with plastic lenses. The latter did not have any lenses already set but the optician put in the lenses of colour and shade I selected. I do not think that one risks any legal consequences by referring to plastic lenses as crystals. But they are not quartz.


----------



## cpac (Mar 25, 2005)

Packard said:


> Are they any better than my Raybans? (Aside from the style issues, I mean.)


That's impossible for anyone but you to answer.

What would make them "better?" For me, the most important feature of sunglasses is that they fit and compliment my face size and shape. After that, to the extent not covered by the first bit, I look to style, and then I prefer that they be well-made pair and prefer polarized lenses, but that's just me. If by "better" you mean better put together, that topic has been debated quite a bit without developing a consensus. Persol certainly tend to cost a bit more than Ray Bans.


----------



## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

As others have answered your questions, I will only note that I have worn Persols for quite a few years and love them. They are my favorite and "go to" sunglasses. Very high quality, excellent styling (IMO), and very comfortable.


----------



## rbstc123 (Jun 13, 2007)

smujd said:


> As others have answered your questions, I will only note that I have worn Persols for quite a few years and love them. They are my favorite and "go to" sunglasses. Very high quality, excellent styling (IMO), and very comfortable.


+1 agreed!


----------



## MF177 (Jun 10, 2009)

a couple of points:
1. Glass lenses are naturally more scratch resistant than plastic although some plastic lenses (e.g. high quality polycarbonate) are far better than others and actually perform quite well.
2. Persol and rayban use a lot of glass lenses. Very hard to match the optical quality of glass. In 2009, i'd guess there are some expensive polycarbonates which come close, but correctly ground glass really has superb opticla properties.
3. PErsol makes a lot of G15 style lenses--sort of a gray-green scale that ryban made famous a long time ago. In glass, the color is integral to the lens. G15 lesnes gives no color distortation - you see everything their true color. I have tried for years to get G15 in a plastic/polycarbonate lens and they very rarely get the color correct and then it often doesnt last anyway because plastic lens colors are often just applied. Not universally, but a lot of them. 

i know nothing of the quartz issue, but one of the other posters is quite correct--quartz is heavy but so is glass. Just remember that quartz and glass are sort of the same thing. Theyre both silicon dioxide a.k.a. silica. Both can have trace elements. Glass has a number of additives typically, some which can make it a lot denser (e.g. lead crystal)

The summary: glass sunglass lenses are simply the best if you a) dont drop them too much and b) don't mind the weight on your nose as they do weigh a lot more than plastic.


----------



## Bradman (May 28, 2009)

MF177 said:


> a couple of points:
> 1. Glass lenses are naturally more scratch resistant than plastic although some plastic lenses (e.g. high quality polycarbonate) are far better than others and actually perform quite well.
> 2. Persol and rayban use a lot of glass lenses. Very hard to match the optical quality of glass. In 2009, i'd guess there are some expensive polycarbonates which come close, but correctly ground glass really has superb opticla properties.
> 3. PErsol makes a lot of G15 style lenses--sort of a gray-green scale that ryban made famous a long time ago. In glass, the color is integral to the lens. G15 lesnes gives no color distortation - you see everything their true color. I have tried for years to get G15 in a plastic/polycarbonate lens and they very rarely get the color correct and then it often doesnt last anyway because plastic lens colors are often just applied. Not universally, but a lot of them.
> ...


Agreed. I have a pair of the Persol 2244's myself and love them. They seem to brighten everything on a nice sunny day- green is greener, sky is bluer, etc. They are quite heavy though. My only complaint is that if I sweat, they tend to get slippery on my nose and I have to keep pushing them back up. I would still highly recommend them regardless.


----------



## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

MF177 said:


> a couple of points:
> 1. Glass lenses are naturally more scratch resistant than plastic although some plastic lenses (e.g. high quality polycarbonate) are far better than others and actually perform quite well.
> 2. Persol and rayban use a lot of glass lenses. Very hard to match the optical quality of glass. In 2009, i'd guess there are some expensive polycarbonates which come close, but correctly ground glass really has superb opticla properties.
> 3. PErsol makes a lot of G15 style lenses--sort of a gray-green scale that ryban made famous a long time ago. In glass, the color is integral to the lens. G15 lesnes gives no color distortation - you see everything their true color. I have tried for years to get G15 in a plastic/polycarbonate lens and they very rarely get the color correct and then it often doesnt last anyway because plastic lens colors are often just applied. Not universally, but a lot of them.
> ...


I have been following this discussion and I am quite impressed with every thing I have learned here. As to the quartz sapphire discussion, I have no answer to whether or not Persol makes their sunglasses with industrial sapphire--which is what a watch crystal is made from. I am, however, skeptical. Sapphire is "grown" into a shape called a "boule" and it is a somewhat time consuming process--there are not a lot of suppliers in the world. Originally it was said Persol makes their own--that could be true. Once it is grown, it must be cut and polished and that is where the trick really is. Although Sapphire is used for optical windows in scientific instruments (and things like bar code scanners) I am not sure they would make good sunglasses. Interesting discussion, if Persol sunglasses are truly made from industrial sapphire then they are in fact made from a harder material than glass. That would be a true qualitative difference that would make them worth more money than Ray Ban or the others. Sapphire is one of the hardest known materials. I am just more than a little skeptical that their lenses are made from Sapphire. Oh, I used to sell industrial sapphire components.

You can get more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire

G


----------



## gordgekko (Nov 12, 2004)

Bradman said:


> Agreed. I have a pair of the Persol 2244's myself and love them. They seem to brighten everything on a nice sunny day- green is greener, sky is bluer, etc. They are quite heavy though. My only complaint is that if I sweat, they tend to get slippery on my nose and I have to keep pushing them back up. I would still highly recommend them regardless.


I have the same problem with the 2244S myself...thought I was the only one.

At any rate, like you I recommend Persol's over almost anything else.


----------



## mysharona (Nov 4, 2008)

I have Ray Bans and Persols, and with my Persols, I constantly have to tighten the screws that hold the arms in place. Other Persol wearers have told me that they have the same problem, as when the screws loosen the arms can flap about. I have never had to tighten my Ray Bans. That being said, I still prefer my Persols and wear them over 90% of the time. I do believe their lenses to be superior.


----------



## Roikins (Mar 22, 2007)

gordgekko said:


> I have the same problem with the 2244S myself...thought I was the only one.


Same here; I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with the slippage problem. During DC summers, I used to wear them much less because of that. However, last year, I fixed them up by gluing some very small and thin black foam bits I cut from a foam sheet purchased from the craft store to the nose area and now they don't slip from sweat.


----------



## mysharona (Nov 4, 2008)

Roikins said:


> Same here; I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with the slippage problem. During DC summers, I used to wear them much less because of that. However, last year, I fixed them up by gluing some very small and thin black foam bits I cut from a foam sheet purchased from the craft store to the nose area and now they don't slip from sweat.


interesting idea!


----------



## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

mysharona said:


> I have Ray Bans and Persols, and with my Persols, I constantly have to tighten the screws that hold the arms in place. Other Persol wearers have told me that they have the same problem, as when the screws loosen the arms can flap about. I have never had to tighten my Ray Bans. That being said, I still prefer my Persols and wear them over 90% of the time. I do believe their lenses to be superior.


Sharona,

You can get some Loc-tite from a hardware store and a little--teeny tiny amount--on top of the screw should stop the screws from backing out and hold them in place for ever. Be careful not to get that anywhere but on the tops of the screws. This discussion has sold me on a pair of Persols. Thanks!


----------



## dwebber18 (Jun 5, 2008)

I recently picked up a pair of Persol 2302, they are a square aviator style with the G15 lenses. They are great, but the weight did pull them off my nose when I looked down. Whats great is since Persol is owned by Luxottica and so is Lens Crafter they support the glasses very well. I went to lens crafters and they adjusted them for me and installed silicone nose pads for free and they stay tightly in place now. Granted that doesn't help you if you don't have nose pads like in the plastic frames. Also check your lens crafters clearance rack, thats where I found mine for $70, get some Persols and don't look back.


----------



## MF177 (Jun 10, 2009)

btw..i doubt anyone is making regular sunglasses with true quartz lenses.
fused quartz is a bit weird optically i would think.

and glass can be made in so many specifications, no t necessary


----------



## Odd I/O (Apr 4, 2009)

Does anyone know if Persol makes prescription sunglasses? I can't tell from perusing thier site.


----------



## brooks_bro (Jun 15, 2009)

Man I love my persol's! Well worth it! I have the 649's in Tortise shell


----------



## MF177 (Jun 10, 2009)

Odd I/O said:


> Does anyone know if Persol makes prescription sunglasses? I can't tell from perusing thier site.


i know that when rayban was still owned by bausch&lomb they did...but they could only go to a prescrip of -(or+) 3 or 4.00 i dont recall.

those were with proper glass lenses.

what you can do is get any good eyelgass store or lenscrafters, buy a pair of sunglasses and theyll make you custom plastic lenses.

but theyre not the same. the color will never match exactly, especially if youre trying for a G15 lens, and of course for most plastic lenses the color is an apply-on tint not really a proper internal color. it makes a huge difference.

your best bet (practically) is to spend the extra $$ on a high quality polycarbonate lens, perhaps polarized if polarized lenses are not weird to you.

i still prefer glass, however.


----------



## burnedandfrozen (Mar 11, 2004)

Another diehard Pesol fan here! Yes the lenses do scratch, but not as bad as the plastic lenses. However, I doubt plastic lenses would shatter like my Persols did a few months back. I guess when the fell out of my shirt pocket as I bent down to pick something up, they landed smack square on the lens. Having the lens replaced was still cheaper then buying a new pair. After comparing, I did notice that a number of Persols have topped $300. I find that a bit too steep for sunglasses that sooner or later will be lost, stolen, or simply broken beyond repair. Do a google search; there are a number of online retailers that offer pretty good deals on Persol.


----------



## MF177 (Jun 10, 2009)

burnedandfrozen said:


> Another diehard Pesol fan here! Yes the lenses do scratch, but not as bad as the plastic lenses. However, I doubt plastic lenses would shatter like my Persols did a few months back. I guess when the fell out of my shirt pocket as I bent down to pick something up, they landed smack square on the lens. Having the lens replaced was still cheaper then buying a new pair.


PErsols and Raybans have better glass than a regular shop will put in, generally speaking. My experience has been that the stock persol lenses are designed and/or tempered to be shatter resistant.

Replacement lenses from a local shop often dont seem to be


----------



## Packard (Apr 24, 2009)

MF177 said:


> PErsols and Raybans have better glass than a regular shop will put in, generally speaking. My experience has been that the stock persol lenses are designed and/or tempered to be shatter resistant.
> 
> Replacement lenses from a local shop often dont seem to be


In New York, by law, I beleive that the lenses have to be tempered or shatter resistant.


----------



## burnedandfrozen (Mar 11, 2004)

Well, the way the lens looked when I picked up the glasses after dropping them was like when you leave glass in a freezer; many small cracks. It didn't shatter and fall to pieces, it was still intact, there were no broken glass on the floor but the lens itself had many hairline cracks running from the center towards the edge. My guess is that when the curved lens landed on the concrete, it landed dead center and the impact just sent all these cracks torwards the edges in all directions.


----------

