Gold & Wood A14 Rimless Eyeglasses

THE ASKMEN TAKE

These are rimless glasses from modern eyewear pioneer Maurice Leonard at Gold & Wood Paris. The small operation turns out well-designed, well-made frames featuring fine woods and metals often shaped by the hands of Leonard himself. These rimlesseyeglasses feature temples available in Tanganika wood, white horn and black wood, or ebony and mahogany woods. It takes Leonard’s expert staff a minimum of three days to make each pair in their Paris workshop.

UNIQUENESS

Rimless frames accentuate the face and allow more of your eyes to be seen, and you can find other similar frames for less but you’ll have a hard time finding a pair with this much detail and craftsmanship. Then there are the rare woods and the use of actual animal horn. Few designers attempt such combinations today, preferring instead to simply sketch the design and farm out or license their name to an existing frame manufacturer overseas. Gold & Wood Paris, on the other hand, makes each frame from scratch, by hand, after Maurice Leonard has completed his initial design work. Craftsmanship in a world dominated by mass production is truly unique.

DURABILITY

These are instant classics and modern marvels of craftsmanship that go far beyond just being a pair of glasses. They will break, of course, but so will a cheaper pair of frames if not treated well. The payoff here is that you’ve got the ultimate confluence of form meets function in the A14 rimless eyeglasses from Gold & Wood. The price is no higher than other designer frames, and while the temple pieces are indeed wood the frames overall stand up well to daily use. Make no mistake, however, that these are a fashionitem. Rimless frames accentuate the face and allow more of your eyes to be seen.