Posts Tagged ‘Tortoise glasses’

Tortoise glasses or tortoise shell glasses, in a commercial sense, are made of plastic with a mottled brown, black and sometimes orange patterns. Tortoise shell bases its design on the shell markings of the hawksbill turtle, and initially it was made from the turtle.

Tortoishell was a heavily used natural material made popular in the early 1900’s. The most widely used was the hawksbill turtle because of the excellent hues and how well the tones reflected on people skin. Many items were fashioned from the tortoishell and the use became outlawed in the 1970’s to protect this species of reptile from endangerment. The tortoishell could be manipulated to make items such as hair clips, guitar picks and eyewear. The tortoise shell eyeglasses became popular in the 1900’s first made famous by comedian Harold Lloyd. This eccentric thick dark round eyeglass was a diversion from the classic metal eyeglasses mostly fashioned in this time period. The time had come for change this was the revival needed for eyeglasses, they were becoming a fashionable and sought after statement. No longer just a medical device allowing one to see clearly, eyeglasses were clearly becoming fashionable.

Since tortoise shell glasses are more popular, how to wear it? You can wear your tortoise shell glasses with any casual outfit. Wear a hat, jeans and tee for a cool and casual day look. Wear your tortoise shell frames with khakis and a polo for a cool and preppy look. Whether you are golfing or boating or just cruising the mall, tortoise shell eyeglass frames are perfect. Moreover, choose a color to compliment your skin. If you are lighter, go for brown tortoise shell frames. If you have a darker skin tone, opt for the black or dark brown frames. You can wear tortoise shell frames as reading glasses or sunglasses. More importantly, try on a variety of styles to find the right frames for your face shape. There is a frame shape and price for every budget. You don’t have to spend a fortune on your tortoise shell eyeglass frames to look amazing.

Yesterday, I saw a piece of sales information about an old pair of tortoise crystal eyeglasses on the internet. I was shocked by the price that was $8,000. I had never heard that a pair of eyeglasses could be sold at such a high price, so I searched some information about tortoise eyeglasses to check why they could be so expensive.

After searching, I have come to know that tortoise is a kind of international protected species whose carapaces can be used for making exquisite decorations. Tortoise lives in the deep sea, hunting the inhabited islands of South Pacific Ocean. Its carapace is smooth and with unique luster. For the tortoise eyeglasses made by hand, most of which the colors are closed to amber; moreover, they are warm, exquisite, luxurious and elegant. For this reason, the eyeglasses frames made from tortoise carapace are quite expensive and worth collecting.

In addition, our ancestors deemed that if someone wore a pair of eyeglasses consisting of the lenses that were grinded from natural crystal and the frame made from tortoise carapace, he would have a cool feeling and his eyes could be protected in this way. Nowadays, a pair of tortoise eyeglasses of the Ming and Qing dynasties is priced at approximate $13,000; even a pair of processed tortoise eyeglasses can be sold at $3,000~$4,000. They are luxuries through and through.

Here I want to mention that if you see a pair of tortoise eye glasses being sold at several hundred dollars or even less, don’t expect it is true. Such eyeglasses are only knock offs or fakes. So if you want to buy authentic tortoise eyeglasses, you must check the price first.