Rimless Cut Edge Snake Head Sunglasses

You put them on and there is nothing in the way except the bridge of your own nose.

That is what a rimless shield does. One squared lens spans both eyes, notched at the bridge, and it is the lens itself that forms the entire front of the glasses. No plastic border, no wire, no line cutting across the bottom of what you are looking at. The edge is bevel cut, so from outside the outline reads as a fine bright line rather than a frame.

The arms clip on at two small gold toned hinges, and each hinge carries a moulded snake head with black and white enamel scales. It is the only decoration on the piece, and it sits exactly where your hair would hide an ordinary hinge. Frame and lens are both polycarbonate, and the maker lists a case and a cleaning cloth in the box alongside the glasses.

Key Benefits

• Genuinely rimless One shield lens across both eyes with no rim anywhere. Nothing sits in your peripheral vision except the nose notch.
• Bevel cut edge The lens outline is cut on an angle, which is what makes the edge catch light like a facet instead of showing a raw plastic cut.
• Enamelled snake head hinges A small gold toned head with black and white enamel scales at each temple, sitting where the arm meets the lens.
• Polycarbonate throughout Frame arms and lens are both polycarbonate, which is the lighter and less brittle of the two things a shield lens is usually made from.
• Case and cloth in the box The maker lists a glasses case and a cleaning cloth with the pair, so the piece has somewhere to live from day one.
• Seven colourways Frame arm and lens tint are paired in each option, from black on grey through to a green frame with a green to yellow lens.

Best for: anyone who wants an oversized shield rather than a classic frame, festival and holiday photographs, driving with the roof down, and the second pair that lives in a bag rather than on a shelf.

Why It Works

A rimless shield is a hard shape to make well, because with no rim to hide behind, the lens edge is the design. Bevelling that edge is what separates a finished pair from a piece of cut plastic: the angle picks up light along the whole outline and gives the shape a definition that a square cut edge never has. Putting the only ornament on the hinge is the other half of it, since a shield with decoration on the front would defeat the point of having no rim in the first place.

Quick Product Facts: one piece rimless shield lens, squared, notched at the bridge; bevel cut lens edge; frame polycarbonate; lens polycarbonate; gold toned hinge with enamelled snake head on each side; maker states UV400 lenses and a category 2 tint; maker states the lenses are not polarised; seven colourways pairing an arm colour with a lens tint; box contains the sunglasses, a glasses case and a cleaning cloth.

How It Fits Your Routine

They go on for the walk to the car and stay on, because a shield covers more of the eye socket than a small frame does and there is no rim edge sitting in your eyeline to notice.

In a bag they want the case. A single lens spanning both eyes has a lot of surface and no rim to protect it, so a loose pair at the bottom of a bag will pick up scratches faster than a framed pair would.

To clean, breathe on the lens and use the cloth from the box. Polycarbonate scratches more easily than glass, so wiping a dusty lens with a shirt is the fastest way to ruin one.

FAQ

What does the maker say about ultraviolet? The maker states UV400 lenses and a category 2 tint on its own sheet. No test report, certificate or standard reference comes with the pair, so that is reported here as the maker's statement and nothing is promised about what the lenses do to ultraviolet light.

Are they polarised? No, and the maker says so itself. If you specifically want glare cut on water or on a wet road, this is not the pair for that.

Is the front really rimless? Yes. One line of the maker sheet says the glasses structure is full frame, and the photographs show the opposite: a single lens with no rim on any edge. The photographs are right, and the sheet contradicts itself.

What comes in the box? The packing list is the sunglasses, a glasses case and a cleaning cloth. Nothing else is listed, so no strap, no pouch and no spare screws.