Comments on: I’m Getting So Tired Of The Word ‘Designer’

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:57:29 +0000

Berkshire Chase are the official US importer and distributer of Algha frames and their Saville Row collection. They are in Pennsylvania. Algha are the manufacturer in London. I have three frames from Saville Row and thoroughly recommend them and yes, they are perfectly round, very comfortable and quality gold.

By: divbyzero

divbyzero — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:28:38 +0000

If anyone is still reading this (I just arrived via a web search), you might like to know that the Savile Row line suggested by Andy may not actually be made or exclusively distributed by Algha. This site claims that a company called Berkshire Chase is the current manufacturer. The model which interested me, so they claim, was actually worn both by John Lennon and by the actor playing Harry Potter in the movies (silver-colored for the former, black for the latter). It is a perfectly circular model with a padless "saddle" bridge called Warwick. While I don't know if their claims are legitimate, the glasses certainly look the part.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:07:04 +0000

Hi! I’d forgotten about this! Just to let you know I was down in London back in June and picked up a lovely pair of round "vintage" wire frames from Opera – at £165 they were no more than the cheapest "squaries" at Specsavers – They warned me not to break them ‘cos they don’t make ‘em any more! Next time I’m down I’ll probably get some plastic ones too methinks! Many thanks for the info!

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:04:33 +0000

And I am being told that round frames are going to be the ‘next thing!’

By: Rupert Travis

Rupert Travis — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:46:48 +0000

1st October 2007 Today trawled every optician in Bedford but no round glasses available, only those horrible little oblong things by the thousand. I don’t want to be a fashion slave, and I don’t want to be a sheep. I just want to see! What’s wrong with these stores? As I explained to a completely baffled (and obviously not very bright) optician, "Look very carefully at my eyes, see? They are round!"

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 16:41:06 +0000

Shipping is a bit steep. Still – you should get them quickly. I’m expecting photos of them being worn…

By: tiny montgomery

tiny montgomery — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 15:25:30 +0000

I appreciate your reservations as to their lack of ultimate roundness, but they’re still more circular almost all the competition. Since I’ve been after a pair of “John Lennon glasses” for at least a decade, I’m not going to complain too loudly, especially as these appear to be the genuine Yoko-approved article. Anyway, the deed is done: shipping seemed a bit pricy at Â£17.01, and I’ll almost certainly get clobbered for customs charges, but what price realising a dream?

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 13:04:30 +0000

My only resevation here is that whilst they look like decent frames – they are not actually round. They are ‘almost’ round though. The pair I used to illustrate the article (top) are fully round – which was what I was after. Having said that, they are cheap enough so it might be worth a try. I’m certainly coming close to a decision on where to put my money!

By: tiny montgomery

tiny montgomery — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 12:53:38 +0000

There's a slightly different selection, handily (optionally) priced in Â£s, here. My opticians had never heard of this particular range of rounded retro joy when I went in to seek some measurement-based advice this morning, so I would guess ordering from the USA is the only option. And if it all turns out disastrously, they can always be disposed of on eBay, where you'll also find what I suspect are older incarnations of the range: it seems like the franchise has bounced around a bit over the years.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 23:46:38 +0000

Shall we get together and do a bulk order?