Some consumers are content with sunglasses that can simply do the job. However, there are others who are willing to pay a premium to get their hands on eyewear that can offer more, people who enjoy the very best in luxury fashion.
To illustrate, luxury jewelry brand Bvlgari has priced pieces from their Flora line of sunglasses at a whopping $59,000. The high price point is primarily due to the glimmering diamonds and pink sapphires that were placed within the floral designs. Meanwhile, Swiss luxury jewelry brand Chopard sold their Chopard De Rigo Vision sunglasses for $408,000. These sunglasses are made from high-quality polarized glass and adorned with diamonds and 24-carat gold.
Designer sunglasses come with a higher price point because of the name and the prestige of their brand. However, it’s also important to take note that you are also paying a premium for better materials and style. Here are some of the reasons why designer sunglasses are worth their price:
Better UV protection
Sunglasses were primarily created to protect your eyes from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Nowadays, most sunglasses have UV protection in the lens to be able to carry out this purpose. However, it’s still worth it to pay a premium for reputable designer sunglasses because they list UV protection information within their label and could even offer up to 100% UV protection. For example, Oakley designer sunglasses are not only stylish and distinct, but they are also prescription-friendly, and the polarized lenses offer 100% protection against UV damage. Models such as Thinlink and M2 can be customized to suit the wearer and are fashionable, but always offer excellent UV protection, which is their primary function. Gucci’s Oversize Aviator frames also offer 100% protection from the sun’s UV rays, plus they also have a wider frame size for greater coverage.
Premium materials
Many designer brands have a higher price point for their eyewear because these pieces are made from strong or unique materials.
For instance, Dita’s limited-edition frame called the Raketo features a dual-lens construction comprised of an inlaid tinted shield at the front and offset drill-mounted sun lenses at the rear. This limited-edition eyewear style is the world’s first double-rimmed, shielded rimless frame, making it more durable than most sunglasses on the market. Dita also used high-quality Japanese acetate for the temple tips of the sunglasses and customized double-rim titanium for its frame, which justifies the limited-edition product’s premium price.
Special features
Apart from offering better materials and protection, certain designer eyewear styles also offer features that you typically won’t get from other brands.
Instead of using typical materials like plastic, designer brands like Giorgio Armani use bio-acetate materials to boost the sustainability of their frames without compromising their quality. The bio-acetate material used by Giorgio Armani is primarily made from cotton and wood pulp-based fibers, which is why they’re more eco-friendly than typical eyewear materials. This material also happens to be very durable, so it’s not surprising that other luxury designer brands like Burberry and Tory Burch use it to make high-quality and sustainable frames.
Stylish designs
One of the main reasons why people purchase designer sunglasses is due to their trend-setting styles.
Though there are plenty of cat eye sunglasses out there, the 2022 eyewear collection of Gucci gives the style a different spin by creating campy cat eye shades with light pink frames. Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele also took inspiration from noir films and designed a new style of caravan-shaped sunglasses with darker lenses and jet-black frames. While cheaper sunglass brands will often follow classic style trends, Gucci shows that luxury eyewear pieces are worth the price because they set those trends through their innovative designs.
Sunglasses are both practical and stylish, making them worth the investment. So instead of buying inexpensive sunglasses every few years, you may want to do yourself a favor by investing in designer sunglasses that can turn heads and last for a long time.
