DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
FINISH
A frame finish is either the material or a layer over it.
Acetate is polished, so the finish is the material. Metal is plated, so the finish is a layer that can wear through and expose what is underneath.
- Hand polished acetate
- The deepest finish · the pattern runs through the block
- Tumbled acetate
- A softer sheen · faster, and the edges stay rounder
- Gold plated
- Metal frames · warm, wears through at the hinge and the pads
- Palladium plated
- Metal frames · cooler and harder wearing than gold
- Painted metal
- Coloured frames · a film over the metal, chips at the edges
- Bead blasted metal
- A matt finish · hides marks, and the texture holds dirt
Illustrative finish reference
| Finish | Typical use | How it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Polished acetate | Frames where the pattern matters | Surface scratches, which can be polished out |
| Gold plate | Thin metal frames | Wears at the hinge and the nose pads |
| Painted metal | Coloured frames | Chips at the edges and the hinge |
| Bead blasted | Matt frames | Holds dirt in the texture |
Why plating thickness is the number.
Because a plated frame wears at the points that touch the face and the case. A thin plate is a frame that shows its base metal within a year, and the wear is always at the same two places.
The one worth avoiding.
A plated frame adjusted repeatedly. Every adjustment moves metal at the hinge, and the plating is what comes off.