68 MOD Fait Main Sunglasses, Oyonnax France – A Vintage Luxury Like No Other

The stamp on these sunglasses reads “68 MOD Fait Main Wrap Oyonnax France”. It is a mouthful. But for me the stamp is the first thing to read on any vintage frame, because it tells you what you are holding.

What the stamp tells you

Fait main is French for handmade. Oyonnax is the town it was made in. Wrap is the shape, a frame that curves around the face. And 68 MOD? That is the year and the model.

No logo, no designer name

The frame is acetate, mottled in the browns and ambers of tortoiseshell. There is no logo on it and no designer name. For me that is the attraction. A piece like this is all about how it was made, and nobody else at the table will be wearing the same pair.

Why Oyonnax?

Why not Paris, Milan or London? Oyonnax is a small town in the Jura mountains of France. It doesn’t have the glitz of the fashion capitals, but it has a long history of making frames. Whilst everyone else is chasing the same big names, I love hunting for items made in Europe by workshops most people have never heard of.

The town made combs first, from wood and horn and later from celluloid. When fashions in hair changed, its workshops turned the same skills and the same materials to spectacle frames. That is why so many French frames carry its name.

Is it worth the money?

Vintage doesn’t mean cheap. But a handmade frame that has already lasted this long will go on lasting. And you won’t find it on the high street.

What to check on a vintage frame

Open and close the arms. The hinges should be firm and the arms should sit level. Look along the frame for warping, and for a white bloom on the acetate, which means it has dried out. Scratched lenses matter less than you would think. An optician can fit new ones.

How to wear it

For outfits I take my inspiration from television, and from series like Miami Vice: pastel linen, a jacket with the sleeves pushed up, nothing fussy. A tortoiseshell wrap frame suits exactly that.

Be rare. Be unique.