HN Explorer

Ask HN: Recommend sunglasses made in the west and independent of Luxotica

44 points by lighttower ↗ HN
Luxotica is a monopoly [0] that uses its market power to control the market price and force suppliers and other manufactuerers to joining their empire. For example Oakley was forced to sell-out to Luxotica when they were shutout out of retail outlets in a time before internet allowed them to go direct to consumer [1].

Question is what multi-sport sunglasses do you use that aren't Luxotica or made in Asia?

[0] https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-glasses-lenscrafters-luxottica-monopoly-20190305-story.html

[1] https://www.oakleyforum.com/guides/oakley-luxottica-sunglasses-history/

35 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 101 ms ] thread
nextos
Maui Jim maybe. Or Randolph Engineering.
thrownintospace
Try www.zerouv.com, the quality is good-ok.

They are cheap so its no sweat of you lose or break a pair.

tssva
Maui Jim manufacturers their glasses in Italy and Japan so not guaranteed to have a western made pair.
dxf
According to their website, Maui Jim frames and lenses are manufactured in either Italy or Japan.

I own both Maui Jim and Randolph Engineering sunglasses and I would not hesitate to buy either again, though they are pricy.

QuizzicalCarbon
I’m a fan of Maui Jim for their variety of frames and lenses, build quality, and especially their repair service. Their high price is worth it for the repair service alone. I recommend them.
notjulianjaynes
Former Sunglass Hut employee. Maui Jims and Oakleys were, at the time, non-Luxottica brands. I told customers that Maui Jims were very high quality but I have no clue if this is true. They were exempt from my 50% employee discount though.
joezydeco
My wife has a pair of Maui Jim's that have lasted her a decade. They're solidly built.
xenocyon
Shuron frames are made in the USA, have an iconic style, and in my experience have been more durable than any other frame I've had. https://shop.shuron.com/
cratermoon
What's wrong with 'made in Asia'?
cauliflower2718
Seconding this question.

I have had great experiences getting glasses from Jins, which has locations in the US and in Asia.

johnwalkr
I don’t know about Jins, but I’ve owners many paid of of Zoff (the other big Japanese maker) and they’ve all been made in Japan or Korea. There’s also a ton of small brands in Japan still. And it’s kind of interesting that virtually all Japanese eyeglasses are made in one city (Sabae).
erklik
Likely to be a case of ethical concerns. It's too often that these companies are using un-ethical labor sourcing in third-world countries, and I am guessing OP isn't interested in supporting them.
cratermoon
Have you looked into labor conditions in the US recently?
greazy
I really like knockaround for its affordability.

https://knockaround.com/

ev1
Wow, this is one of the worst sites I've ever seen.

I was wondering why it was taking several minutes to load on a fast mobile connection: it contacts hundreds of subdomains, sends identifying data and drops marketing cookies everywhere. A single visit dropped over a hundred cookies. It's not even just analytics, it's full blown in your face crap.

It's loading several dozen chains of scripts that load more scripts. The screen is packed full of popups, modals, endless spam. Moving your mouse anywhere causes more modals to appear. Moving your mouse toward the top of the screen pops up fullscreen ads telling you to STOP, COME BACK!!

Half of the bottom is covered in product ads and hover buttons.

https://i.imgur.com/PLVaOLf.png

Holy shit.

tcbasche
The irony of having to accept cookies and click on “continue in browser” when going to that imgur link on mobile...
ulchabhanrua
Ombraz are non-luxotica, multi-sport, and check off some sustainability boxes, which may counter your "made in Asia" issue. https://ombraz.com/

I've been a big fan of Randolf Engineering glasses but they are costly. I wouldn't call them multi-sport, but it depends on what you're doing. https://www.randolphusa.com/

gnicholas
Check out Bureo, [1] which is partnered with Costa to make sunglasses out of up-cycled fishing nets. I don't know where they're manufactured, but I believe the fishing nets come from Chile.

I personally like my Maui Jims, which have some bits from Italy and some from elsewhere. They have a great repair policy that lets you get spare parts and fixes many years later, which is pretty unique.

1: https://www.costadelmar.com/en-us/inside-costa/protect/untan...

jet_32951
My old Bollé sunglasses are very comfortable and protective, if tatty. Not owned by Luxottica: agreed, near-monopoly
NonEUCitizen
Why does it have to be made in the west? Imagine insisting on CPUs fabricated in the west...
eurasiantiger
Because it does not feel good to give your money to people who use that money for oppression and genocide.
tssva
Then specific countries should have been specified. Many/Most Asian countries don't do so and many Western countries do.
mosermint
AO has classic styles and is actually made in usa and not just a usa brand.
utucuro
Lunor A5 [1], handmade glasses from Germany. They also have clip-on attachments [2] for a bunch of their other glasses. The classic version was worn by Steve Jobs; having worn the same frame with different lens shape, I can only recommend the brand, it was the most comfortable pair of glasses I used in my life so far (not wearing glasses daily anymore due to reduced myopia & fogging from masks) Lunor is, as far as I can tell, not part of Luxotica or LVMH. [1] https://lunor.com/en/product-category/a5-sun-en/ [2] https://lunor.com/en/product-category/clip-on-en/