Eyecare Business, December 2004

The Vintage Advantage
The Demand for vintage eyewear shows that everything old is new again
By Joanne F. Schell

Allyn Scura, a designer and collector of vintage frames, was antique shopping in North Carolina when she came upon her first pair of vintage spectacles. She wore them as sunglasses in New York City and was met with many inquiries from people on the street, fascinated with her vintage frames.

Realizing there was an untapped market for vintage eyewear, she began to search out older frames to sell and hit the jackpot. She found and sold more than 5,000 unused pairs. A business success story was born: Scura has amassed a collection of more than 60,000 antique spectacles.

Selling and collecting vintage eyewear has become a passion for many eyecare professionals. Dating from the 1800s to the late 1980s, vintage frames offer the wearer a unique style and a piece of history. "Since I started in the optical industry, I have been fascinated with the quality and craftsmanship of vintage frames," says Dale Thompson, owner and operator of Precise Eyeglass Repair in Cincinnati, Ohio. "They have an amazing amount of detail and character."

FRAME SEEKING

Finding vintage frames that are in "sellable" condition can be difficult. Used eyewear can suffer from a weak structure, making it an unworthy investment. "I always bought vintage frames at the flea market in Chelsea [New York]," says Scott Iseyama, partner at Allyn Scura Eyewear, a San Clemente, Calif.-based virtual retailer. "They would only last a few months at a time." Never-worn frames, he says, help to ensure that the frame can stand up to the stress of a lens installation.

Most dispensaries that sell vintage eyewear deal in unused frames. Some frames can be found at antique stores, but to obtain a large stock, family-operated optical shops are often the best place to turn.

"Our biggest purchases are from people who had an optometrist in the family," says Jennie Wilson, owner of Vintage I Wear, an online dispensary.

"We get most of our frames from optical shops going out of business," adds Marilyn Welch of Ed Welch Antiques, a Maine-based dealer of vintage eyewear. "Dispensaries that have been around for 50 or more years might have an inventory of frames that could not be returned, and owners want to get rid of that inventory when they close."

Instead of actively pursuing the frames, many dispensaries post inquiries on the Internet.

VINTAGE VALUE

Once dispensers get their hands on enough frames, pricing issues have to be considered. Often, frames can be sold and melted down for reuse, so an interested ECP needs to make selling the frames to a dispensary a more attractive proposition. The first move for an ECP is to make an offer for the frames at a price that is above scrap value.

In terms of retail, the current structures of supply and demand determine the price, regardless of when the frames were produced.

"Like most businesses, pricing is based on what the market will bear," explains Iseyama. "This includes the impact of competitive products and consumer demand."

Sometimes, however, there are other issues to consider. "If a frame is incredibly rare, it's going to be more expensive," says Jamie Niblock, director of retail for Robert Marc, a New York-based dispensary and dealer of vintage frames.

"Gold-filled vintage frames are quite expensive because of the materials. Frames haven't been made like that since the gold standard changed in the 1970s," he adds.

OLD FRAMES, NEW LENSES

There are also some ophthalmic issues to consider when opting to service and sell vintage frames.

"Repair of vintage frames is very similar to modern frames; the quality of the repair is based on the expertise and skill of the repair technician," says Precise's Thompson.

"Unless you have specific information on when and where a frame was made, it may be hard to service or find replacement parts," adds Niblock.

Most people wear the frames for function. "People rarely ask about plano lenses," says Wilson. Making sure that today's lenses can be used in the older frames is key. For example, not all of today's high-index lens wearers can use older frames.

"Many vintage frames have prescription limitations," says Thomp-son. "With today's advances in high-index materials, the ranges of prescriptions have drastically increased.

For some older frames, edge thickness is a concern. And, as with some of today's glasses, smaller frames may not accommodate progressive lenses, but short corridor PALs help address the problem.

WHO'S LOOKING?

With more than 100 years' worth of eyewear available, the vintage eyewear market is hard to pinpoint.

"While it's still somewhat of a niche product, the label is as broad as pop music," Iseyama says.

Wilson gets most of her orders from the coasts--she also works with prop departments on plays and movie sets to fulfill costume needs.

Subculture groups may also make demands for period eyewear. Thompson's typical antique eyewear consumer might be a Civil War re-enactor, while Scura attracts Rockabilly enthusiasts who are immersed in a 1950s lifestyle.

On a broader scale, 1960s- and 1970s-style frames are making a comeback, as evidenced by the creation of new frames that nod to that mod-type style. Generally speaking though, the vintage eyewear enthusiast will have a collection of frames instead of a single multi-use pair.

"The person wearing vintage eyewear on the street might have something modern and classic at home as well," says Niblock. "It's an interesting time where people are seeking all types of looks."

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