Four lens types, each right for something and wrong for something else. Knowing which before you buy is most of the difference between a pair you wear and a pair you return.
Every lens we sell - clear-ish yellow or near-black mirror - is UV400, which means it blocks 100% of UVA and UVB up to a wavelength of 400 nm. The filter is in the lens material, not the colour. A dark lens without a UV filter is worse than no sunglasses at all, because your pupils open behind it; that is why the standard matters more than the shade.
| Lens | What it does | Best for | Wrong for | Scratches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain tint (grey, brown, green) | Cuts brightness evenly | Everyday, screens outdoors | Glare off water | Normal |
| Polarised | Blocks reflected glare | Driving, water, snow | Reading LCD screens, some dashboards | Normal |
| Gradient | Dark top, light bottom | Cities, terraces, menus | Beaches, boats, snow | Normal |
| Mirrored | Reflects light before the tint | Very bright light, hiding your eyes | Dusk, anywhere grit gets on the lens | Easily |
The colour of a plain tint changes how the world looks, not how much protection you get.
Light bouncing off a flat surface - sea, a wet road, a car bonnet - arrives mostly horizontally polarised. A polarised lens has a filter that blocks that orientation, so the glare goes and the rest of the scene stays. On water the difference is dramatic: you see into it instead of off it.
The same filter blocks some screens. LCD displays emit polarised light, and at certain angles a petrol pump, a car dashboard, a bike computer or a phone held sideways goes dark or shows a rainbow. Tilt your head and it comes back. If you spend outdoor time reading a screen - cycling with a computer, working on a terrace - choose a plain tint instead, and we say so on each polarised product.
Polarised is available on about half the range; the product page says which. Where a frame is offered in both, the polarised option costs the same.
Dark at the top, where the sun is, fading to nearly clear at the bottom. You can read a menu, a phone or a book without taking the glasses off, which is why it is the lens for people who hate the on-off dance. On our frames the top is a category 3 tint and the bottom a category 1.
The trade is coverage. The lower third blocks much less light, so glare from a white table, water or snow comes in from below. For a terrace, yes; for a boat, pick a full tint.
A metallic coating on the front of a tinted lens that reflects a share of the light before the tint handles the rest. It makes the darkest lens we offer - the Scirocco's silver mirror over polarised grey - and it hides your eyes completely.
The coating is a few microns thick and it marks before the lens underneath does. A scratch shows as a bright line against the mirror. Keep it in the case, never face-down on a table, rinse grit off before wiping, and wipe with the cloth, not a sleeve. Treated that way it lasts years. In a pocket with keys it lasts a week, and that is not a guarantee claim.
European sunglasses are marked with a category from 0 to 4 for how much visible light they block. Every lens on this site is marked on the inside of the temple and on the product page.
| Category | Light blocked | Use | Driving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20–57% | Dusk, overcast, our yellow lens | Yes |
| 2 | 57–82% | Average sun, our amber lens | Yes |
| 3 | 82–92% | Bright sun - every grey, brown, green and polarised lens here | Yes, daytime only |
| 4 | 92–97% | High mountain, open sea - our silver mirror | No. Not legal for driving. |
No category 3 or 4 lens should be worn for driving at night or in a tunnel. Carry something lighter for the drive home.
Most of our lenses are nylon: light, optically clear, and more scratch-resistant than polycarbonate. The sport frames use polycarbonate, which is more impact-resistant and lighter still, but scratches more easily - the trade a lens on a bike should make. We do not use glass; it is heavier and shatters.
Lens coatings - the mirror, the anti-reflective layer on the back, the hydrophobic coat on the sport lenses - are guaranteed for 2 years against peeling, crazing or lifting. Scratches from use are not covered, because they are the lens being used; a scratched lens can be replaced at cost, and we will say what that is before you decide.