Sunglasses, the Perfect Accessory After Watches
Sunglasses, along with watches, are probably the most used fashion accessory in the world, especially by men as women have at their disposal a wider range of accessories ranging from bags to various pieces of jewelry and that’s why Sunglasses are now a widespread piece and used on sunny days but also on the darkest days of winter, worn by the most common of mortals and one of the favorite fashion pieces of movie stars and social life.
It is not known for sure when the first sunglasses were created, however some claim that the first models were created 2000 years ago by the Inuit, an indigenous Eskimo nation that inhabits the arctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, to protect them against snow blindness, however, sunglasses as we know them today only emerged from 1929, with the appearance in the 1930s of the famous Aviator and in 1936 the first Polaroids that offered protection against UV rays appeared.
Two of the most extraordinary sunglasses brands are Ray-Ban and Persol, both with similar histories as they were created based on military needs, with a view to protecting the vision of aviation pilots and improving their performance.
Persol was born in 1917 by the hands of Giuseppe Ratti, an Italian optician and photographer, who started the production of sunglasses for aviators and athletes, the glasses quickly become unmistakable due to the crystal lenses, the chrome arrow that extends from the rod to the body of the glasses and the patented Meflecto system that makes the rods flexible and adherent to the face. Two milestones in the history of this brand, in 1957 it launches the 649 model which is still one of the brand’s best-selling models today and is known for having been used by Marcello Mastroianni in the movie “Divorce à Italiana” and by Steve McQueen in the movie “The Thomas Crown Case” and 1991, which marks the opening of Persol’s first boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills that represents the brand’s connection to Hollywood stars.
In 1937, Ray-Ban was born, created by Bausch & Lomb, an American medical equipment manufacturer, which, in collaboration with US Army Air Corps Colonel John A. Macready, created and patented the Ray-Ban Aviator, which soon became its image brand. The year 1956 is another milestone in the history of this brand, with the creation of the second best-known model, the Ray-Ban Wayfarers, very popular during the 50s and 60s, returning to the limelight in the 80s and again from 2000 until the actuality.
Both Persol and Ray-Ban now belong to the Italian Luxottica Group, founded in 1961 and which is today the world’s largest manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of eyewear.
Our three favorite sunglasses are exactly the most well-known models of these two brands, the Ray-Ban Aviator, the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, and the Persol 649, as they are all classic models but which today are assumed as current models, for their versatility and for being unisex, they are the choice of several actors either on screen or in personal life and that’s why we decided to highlight the actor Tom Cruise, who used several models of these two brands in several films in which he starred, we leave some of these passages below.
