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WHO: Snow bunnies in the chalets of the Swiss Alps and lodges of Aspen, yachtsmen in St. Barths, surfers off the Australian coastline and anyone who wants crystal clear vision.

WHAT: Raise the glass! Glass lenses that is. Though mineral glass lenses have long been the preferred lens material in certain segments of the market, and for certain activities, its heavy weight often made it less desirable as lighter, less expensive lens materials entered the scene. But as mineral glass lenses have become thinner and more lightweight, designers have rekindled their love for it and are using it in more fashion-focused styles helping to introduce it to a new audience.

WEAR: (L to R) Recently launched in the U.S., Australian brand Otis, which has its roots in surf culture, design, art, music and fashion, uses mineral glass lenses in all its sunwear styles; here The Nowhere to Run. Vuarnet is back! Offering their “Pure” optical quality mineral and mineral polarized glass lenses still made in France since 1957; shown here is the VL002. Oliver Peoples introduced a new line of glass lenses called VFX+ Polarized. It features all of the coatings of their existing VFX Polarized lenses made from rare earth glass with an infrared coating; here the Benedict aviator (OV1002-S). Crystal lenses are a point of pride for Persol. This classic folding Persol 9714-S, the shape Steve McQueen made famous, from Luxottica, offers a 1.8mm super-light polarized lens made from extra fine glass. Costa also cut their teeth with glass lenses. Though they have introduced their proprietary 580 lens, which blocks yellow light at 580nm for enhanced color and blue light at 400nm to reduce haze and blur, in a polycarbonate version, the glass 580, shown here in the Cortez, is still a big draw for the brand.

WHY: Superior optics, that’s why. Glass has the greatest clarity and scratch resistance of any lens material on the market. As more lightweight options were introduced, its prevalence diminished somewhat, but now, new technologies have allowed for thinner, lighter mineral glass lenses that retain all the benefits of glass; like it’s optical clarity and distortion free views, as well as its imperviability to warping, peeling or fading over time, the use of glass lenses in fashion frames is back on the rise.

dcarroll@jobson.com