Help me find even smaller eyeglasses!

January 18, 2013 11:33 AM

So, I have something of an eyewear fetish. And I'm looking or something new. And small.

I have a pair of titanium frames from Ogi that I bought in 2002. They are incredibly small. The lenses are shaped kind of like a slice of bread, and the diameter of each lens is probably around 17mm. They're small enough that people often say, "Day-um, those are some small glasses!"

I'm interested in finding something smaller in diameter. After years of looking, I'm still looking. I don't need glasses for a small head. I want glasses for a normal sized head but with very tiny lenses. Like this, maybe. But smaller. Probably not this small, but close.

Any ideas?

posted by scblackman to clothing, beauty, & fashion (5 answers total)

If you're not allergic from ordering your eyeglasses online, I swear by 39 Dollar Glasses. I believe they even have the measurements of the lenses on the site.
posted by THAT William Mize at 11:48 AM on January 18

Are you absolutely sure that you mean 17mm in diameter? That's .6 inches, which seems like it would be hard to actually see out of.

The Anglo American frames Groucho has a diameter of 33mm, or 1.2 inches across. I have seen them and they are pretty small.
posted by Frowner at 11:52 AM on January 18

I used to wear these cable temples and their lenses are quite small. (Take note, I believe the non-cable temple versions of that frame has the lenses a wee bit larger.)
posted by Wossname at 12:50 PM on January 18

Lenses are cheap and plastic is soft and easy to work with. Take some lenses and cut them down yourself. Practice on old ones first :) Then either build your own frames or modify existing ones.
Personally, I'd coat both sides of the lenses in something like painters tape, clamp them together and shape them simultaneously to ensure the end result is symmetrical. Adding a putty or clay is probably a good idea when clamping them, since they're not flat and even pressure is better. A dremel has you covered on cutting, shaping, polishing etc, (perhaps even grooving if attaching to half-frames that use nylon cord.)

And then you're wearing something one-of-a-kind, bespoke by/for you.
posted by anonymisc at 5:07 PM on January 18

Try looking on ebay for antique eyeglasses. "Vintage" eyeglasses are usually from the '50s or '60s, but "antique" ones ten to be substantially older — more like the ones you're looking for. These seem close, as do these. I'm assuming you've looked at local flea markets or antique malls, but if you haven't, there are often tonnnnnnsssss of unusual glasses there. (You can still get the lenses replaced with your correct prescription.)
posted by Charity Garfein at 6:29 PM on January 18