Ray-Ban Glass Lenses: How Legends Are Born

Ray-Ban, the number one brand in sunglasses production, today offers a wide range of models, the variety of which directly depends on the lenses.



There’s the shape (round, teardrop, "cat-eye"...), the color (from classic gray-green to incredible purple and amber Ambermatic), and, of course, the technology (photochromic, mirrored, polarized, and others). Such a wide selection can be overwhelming, but we know one thing for sure: nothing is more important than the fundamentals, like the overall process of creating Ray-Ban lenses!

So, the creation of a lens consists of nine stages, each different in technique but equally important in value.

1. Melting in a Platinum Crucible

Platinum is a material resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. To prevent contamination with impurities, the glass mass is melted in a platinum crucible.

2. Heating

The glass mass is carefully brought to the melting point. Interestingly, some amount of broken glass (scrap) is added to accelerate the melting process.

3. Pressing

The molten glass flows through a vertically placed platinum cylindrical chamber, inside of which a stirring rod is located. At the bottom of this chamber, there is an opening through which the glass mass flows into a narrow platinum channel: at this stage, the mass becomes viscous as it cools slightly.

This allows the material to be divided into separate pieces (drops) as it exits the channel, which fall into molds. A pneumatic plunger positioned above helps give the glass piece the required shape.

4. Firing

The glass piece, already shaped, is fired for 3-5 hours. This step prevents the formation of internal stresses in the glass caused by cooling.

At the end of this process, the result is a round lens with a thickness of 3.3 mm.

5. Grinding

The lens is ground and shaped with diamond tools, then polished, reducing the thickness to 2.4-1.6 mm.

6. Edging and Final Shaping

The edges of the lens are ground to ensure a secure fit in the frame. Additionally, the lens takes its final shape at this stage.

7. Tempering

This final step focuses on the material's properties. Heat tempering makes the lenses impact-resistant, and the thinnest lenses are strengthened by chemical tempering.

8. Coating

Vacuum evaporation is the method used to coat the lens. The lens is placed in a vacuum chamber, with a titanium monoxide plate at one end and the lens at the other. As the plate heats up, vapors are released and settle on the glass surface.

It’s worth noting that this technology is quite complex and requires precision, as improper use can cause defects (pits) on the outer surface.

If a mirrored or gradient coating is required, masks are used to evenly distribute the material across the lens surface.

9. The Finale

Naturally, the final step is the assembly of the frame and lenses. And voilà, a new pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses is ready!

After a long journey from liquid glass to a finished lens, the legendary Ray-Ban lenses continue to win hearts. If yours is no exception, the online store rb.ua is exactly what you need!