I had a customer in to me this morning, asking about a brooch for
holding a pair of glasses when they were not in use, she said she
had seen a lady wearing one on a cruse she took lately in the
Caribbean. Its a new one on me, so any info would be welcome.
Many thanks,
Neil KilBane,
Ireland
Neil,
Yes, I have seen these but I can’t put my hands on a source or photo
right now. Basically, the ones I’ve seen are fairly ornate openwork
with a largish opening in the center. The bow of the eyeglasses gets
“threaded” through that center opening and the eyeglasses folded
down. It’s actually pretty secure (more secure than folding the
glasses over the neck of your shirt, but basically the same concept).
I’m also pretty certain that there was a Victorian-era version of
these that I’ve seen in one of the encyclopedias of antique jewelry.
That one was used extensively for opera-glasses and monocles, which
were quite fashionable accessories of the time. Perhaps a quick look
through one of these tomes might yield some results?
In more recent years, a new trend is those little folding reading
glasses, which I think are now available in prescription. They are
tiny and fold up into a little hard-shell container about 3" long by
1" wide. I know that Sharper Image was one of the first companies to
come out with them, and probably still have them available on their
website if you wanted to see a picture.
Best of luck and let me know what you find out!
Karen Goeller
@Karen_Goeller
http://www.nolimitations.com
Handcrafted and Unique Artisan Jewelry
I’ve seen these, it’s just a brooch of any design with a loop of
wire beneath, and you fold up your glasses and hang them there.
This is something that the folks over on the jewelry making forum at
About.com do with beads. A fancy flower center is created. A series
of loops can go around the piece or just a centered one at the bottom
which is where the ear piece of the glasses is inserted. It can be as
ornate or clean lined as you like. It’s a nice alternative to the
eyeglass leashes.
Betty
Hi, This broach is some kind of ring arrangement that the glasses
handle slides into and the glasses fold and hang in place. I too
had thought it was a good idea and looked round for one when I was
wearing glasses.
Pamela Rambo Rudduck
Eyeglass jewelry is usually a design that allow one of the ear
pieces of the eye glasses to pass through a hole and hang either
around the persons neck or as a brooch. Frank Goss
Hello, Neil,
I have seen many of the brooches for holding eyeglasses. They vary in
style, some a simple execution, some heavily embellished with
gemstones or crystals, etc. It always has some sort of loop that you
hang the folded up glasses - which hang vertically. The brooches are
often fashioned to look like “cats eye” style spectacles with a loop
hanging off the bottom in the center.
One key is that the brooch should not be too large - Small enough to
be unobtrusive, special enough to not look to utilitarian or even
"tacky" :o), Designs to avoid are 1) horizontal oval - glasses will
slide from side to side or 2) a large circle - because they can
fall out when you stoop over. This is very important, to avoid the
loss or breakage that dropping glasses could lead to. Another
consideration is that the portion of glasses where the hinge is- (
this is the part that will “fold over” the loop) can vary in width,
depending on the style of the glasses. They can be thin, as in wire
frames, or thick, as in Jackie O style thick plastic frames.
You may want to use some wire and form a loop and work with a pair
of sunglasses to see what will work for a design. What you use for
the more artistic part at the top of the loop would depend on your
customer’s style and metal color preferences. I’ve seen simple,
modern, sleek silver brooches, and gold, ornate ones with colorful
Ah and the pin part should have a safety clasp, as again, the
security of knowing you wont lose or drop your specs is priority for
the wearer. Sorry I don’t have a photo for 'ya.
Hope this helps!
Mary Beth In New Hampshire
.I sawone once and thought it a pretty slick idea. The brooch itself
was heartshaped/inverted triangle with a sturdy jump ring about 1/2 "
in diameter at the bottom. Slide one earpiece of the glasses thro the
jump ring and there you are. Funny because i’ve been thinking about
designing some of these as my friends and DH and I are all beginning
to need glasses or longer arms
Hi Neil, We had stocked some at the jewelry store I used to work at.
The brooch was basically a bar with a round wire in a u shape
soldered to the bar which formed a D turned sideways. The bar
section had the pinstem assembly soldered to the backside. The
person could slip the ear piece section of the eyeglass frames over
the U shaped wire. You can get creative with the bar section
adding engraving or stones. Ours were made in sterling with cab
stones bezel set on the bar portion.
Hope this helps. Contact me off list if you have any further
question, I’ll be glad to email a drawing to help you visualize it
better. Gisela
For a visual on these, go to Google - images and enter eyeglass pin.
Sounds like a new baby boomer trend in the making!
Marta in Sacramento
The eye glass holders I saw at an optical shop recently were in the
form of a necklace - simple small beads with large (maybe 20mm or
larger) jump ring at one end, the other end had a lobster clasp. The
necklaces looked like they were around 18-24 inch length, simple
strands of semi precious beads. The glasses were held by simply
putting the ear piece through the jump ring and folding the glasses.
K
Hello Neil. The brooch the lady sought becomes quite handy for the
over 41 set, about the time reading glasses become necessary part
time. You can make her a simple, or decorated small circle pin -
large enough and light enough not to be dragged down with the
eyeglasses temple piece put through it. I made one a pendant for
someone that looked good with or without the glasses present. Ask
the lady for her ideas, and it should be easy to create in no time.
Maybe you’ll sell many more as she shows her friends. Hope you like
the idea too, and that this helps.
Pat
I work for an optometrist as one of my jobs and we sell some of the
brooches that you asked about. If you’d like to take a look at some
examples of these brooches here is a link for an optical suppliers
website:
http://www.mannoptics.com.au/Products.html Click on the link for
“Eyewear Accessories” and there should be some images there.
I think they are available at most optometrist stores so it might be
worth dropping into one (or a few) and checking some out up close.
Neil: I am familiar with these and as far as design is concerned, you
are only limited to your imagination! Basically, it’s a brooch that
pins vertically with a large loop on the end. You run one of ends of
your glasses through the loop and it hangs down. Does that make
sense?
Anyway, most I’ve seen are very inexpensive types of base metal with
colorful accents or rhinestones.
Good luck!
Tammy Kirks
Red Bee Designs
Neil, Over the years I have known several jewelers who make eyeglass
brooches. They can be oval or round or nearly any shape or design.
The bottom half of the brooch is pierced, so that the stem of a pair
of glasses can slide through it. Then the glasses hang in a closed
position from the corner where the hinge is. Most of the ones I have
seen are fairly simple in design, making it easier to remove and
replace the glasses.
Good luck, Pauline Warg / Warg Designs
Here’s a page with some photos:
http://www.tellmewhereonearth.com/eyeglass_pg_4.htm
Mary Barker, IT Project Manager Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union
@mary_barker1 650-855-3392
M-Th 6:30 am - 2 pm Pacific Time
Ok, so who’s got any good ideas for making a male version?? It
strikes me I could do with such a thing as I usually have two pairs
of specs hanging round my neck on strings and they always seem to be
coated with biscuit crumbs when I put them on!! Best wishes, Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
I just tried to contact mann optics regarding these brooches using
the email address and form on their site, but it bounced. Do you
have any contact for them?
Thanks!
Karen Goeller
@Karen_Goeller
http://www.nolimitations.com
Handcrafted and Unique Artisan Jewelry
Ok, so who's got any good ideas for making a male version?? It strikes me I could do with such a thing as I usually have two pairs of specs hanging round my neck on strings and they always seem to be coated with biscuit crumbs when I put them on!! <G> Best wishes, Ian
How about keeping with the theme you have going, make a miniature
scone, burn it out and cast it for the pin section then finish as
needed.
Marta in Sacramento
Ok, so who's got any good ideas for making a male version?? It strikes me I could do with such a thing as I usually have two pairs of specs hanging round my neck on strings and they always seem to be coated with biscuit crumbs when I put them on!! <G> Best wishes, Ian
How 'bout the jewelers variation on the old pocket protector? a
metal sheet or frame or something slips into the shirt pocket, with
an appropriate appliances extending over the top of the pocket and
out, to hold the glasses. Made for a jeweler, it could also have a
handy dandy hook to hold your loupe, and maybe a built in pair of
diamond tweezers… Might end up looking a little like some sort of
key rack, only for the pocket (and I say that only halfway "tongue
in cheek…)
Peter