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Eyeglass Frame Materials

By Erinn Morgan; review and contributions by
master optician Mark Mattison-Shupnick

Different eyeglass frame materials greatly expand your options for a new look. While shopping for new eyeglasses or sunglasses, ask your optician for advice about variety in colors, durability, lightness, favorite brands, hypoallergenic materials, uniqueness and price.

In fact, finding eyeglasses with the qualities that are most important to you could be as simple as choosing the right frame material, because each type has its own unique strengths.

Plastic

If you want the colors of the rainbow, then zyl (zylonite, or cellulose acetate) is your material. Zyl is a very cost-effective and creative option for eyewear and is extremely lightweight. Particularly popular right now are laminated zyl frames that have layered colors. Look for light colors on the interior sides, which can make your eyewear "disappear" from your visual field when you wear them. An all-black frame, on the other hand, is visible at all times on both interior and exterior sides.

Some manufacturers also use cellulose acetate propionate, a nylon-based plastic that is hypoallergenic. It's lightweight and has more transparency and gloss than other plastics. If your main criterion for a frame is lightness, then definitely consider propionate frames.

Eyeglasses made of nylon first were introduced in the late 1940s. Because of brittleness and other problems, eyeglass manufacturers switched to blended nylon (polyamides, co-polyamides and gliamides). Today's blended nylon frames are both strong and lightweight.

Nylon is also a premier material for sports and performance frames, typically made of gliamides, grilamid or trogamid materials that are very resistant to hot and cold and are more flexible, yet also stiff. Nylon also is easily molded into today's popular wraparound styles, as well as other shapes that are difficult to produce.

It may sound odd, but plastic made of castor oil (actually, castor seed oil) is now used in some eyewear. Traditionally used as a laxative, a soap ingredient and a machinery lubricant, castor oil is also making its way into plastic auto parts, along with other non-petroleum-based plastics. Reasons for castor oil plastic development include the high price of petroleum and the ease of growing castor bean plants in places where other profitable plants don't thrive.

Plastic frames do have some drawbacks. They are easier to break than metal frames, they will burn (but are not easily ignited), and aging and exposure to sunlight decrease their strength slightly. Color can fade over time, but not as much with modern materials.

Metal

Monel — a mixture of any of a broad range of metals — is the most widely used material in the manufacture of eyeglass frames. Its malleability and corrosion resistance are pluses.

Still, it is not 100 percent corrosion-resistant: for some people, monel can react with their skin chemistry. But this is preventable if the right kind of plating, such as palladium or other nickel-free options, is used.

Many frame manufacturers offer titanium and beta-titanium styles these days; titanium is a silver-gray metal that's lightweight, durable, strong and corrosion-resistant. It has been used for everything from the Gemini and Apollo space capsules to medical implants such as heart valves.

Titanium eyewear can be produced in a variety of colors for a clean, modern look with a hint of color. And they're hypoallergenic.

Some titanium farmes are made from an alloy that is a combination of titanium and other metals, such as nickel or copper. In general, titanium alloy frames cost less than 100 percent titanium frames.

Beryllium, a steel-gray metal, is a lower-cost alternative to titanium eyewear. It resists corrosion and tarnish, making it an excellent choice for wearers who have high skin acidity or spend a good amount of time in or around salt water.

Beryllium is also lightweight, very strong, very flexible (making it easy for an optician to adjust your glasses) and available in a wide range of colors.

Comparison of Eyeglass Frame Materials

Material	Hypo- allergenic	Light- weight	Strong	Flexible	Corrosion- Resistant	Variety of Colors, Patterns, Textures*
Plastic
Cellulose acetate & zylonite
Cellulose propionate
Nylon						Coating
Metal
Monel					With plating
Titanium
Beryllium
Stainless steel
Flexon
Aluminum						Coating
Other
Wood, bone & buffalo horn						Natural
Gold (10k) & sterling silver
*Coatings and frames made of natural materials such as bone typically cannot incorporate artificial colors, patterns and textures.

Stainless steel frames and surgical stainless are another alternative to titanium. Qualities of stainless steel frames include light weight, low toxicity and strength; many stainless steel frames also are nickel-free and thus hypoallergenic.

Stainless steel is readily available and reasonably priced. It's an alloy of steel and chromium, and may also contain another element. Most stainless steels contain anywhere from 10 to 30 percent chromium, which provides excellent resistance to corrosion, abrasion and heat.

Flexon is a titanium-based alloy. This unique and popular material, originated by the eyeglass manufacturer Marchon, is called a "memory metal": frames made of Flexon come back into shape even after twisting, bending and crushing. Flexon frames are lightweight, hypoallergenic and corrosion-resistant.

Marchon company officials describe the frame as about 25 percent lighter in weight than standard metals, giving you a much lighter feel on your face.

Frames made from aluminum are lightweight and highly corrosion-resistant. Aluminum is used primarily by high-end eyewear designers because of the unique look it creates.

Aluminum is not only the world's most abundant, but also the most widely used, nonferrous material. Pure aluminum is actually soft and weak, but commercial aluminum with small amounts of silicon and iron is hard and strong.

Unusual Frame Materials

Want a distinctive style? Willing to pay for it? Try eyeglass frames or design accents made from these materials. High-end optical boutiques will be the best hunting grounds for this unique and sometimes pricey eyewear.

Solid silver or sterling silver is not used commonly as a principal frame material because it doesn't make very wearable or comfortable frames. Sometimes silver is used as a trace element in metal alloy frames and often provides a jewelry-like accent on plastic frames.

Some companies make gold eyewear, typically gold plating rather than solid gold. Like silver, gold can be used for accenting plastic or metal frames as well.

Wood, bone and buffalo horn frames usually are handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces. Wood and bone, though stiffer, less adjustable and much more expensive than other frame materials, are appealing because of their unique beauty. Buffalo horn frames have an elegant look and warm to your body temperature; they can feel unlike any other frame you've ever worn before.

Often used on temples or across frame fronts, leather is not as durable or practical as other materials used for accenting, but it provides an interesting and fashionable look. Recently, velvet was used to wrap a special-edition sunglass model.

Semi-precious or precious stones and crystals are sometimes used as accents in frames, especially in the temples. Popular choices are onyx, turquoise and Swarovski crystals, but even diamonds can be used, for a luxurious touch. Such designs usually are worn in a formal office or on dressy occasions. Rhinestones are a less expensive alternative and often are used to create a flashy or retro look, especially in upturned cateye frames.

Feathers have been used as adornments on frames, but recently one company used them to create a colorful pattern within the plastic that was then used for its frames.

Gina White also contributed to this article.

[Page updated April 2013]