Persol 714

the king of cool wearing his Persol 714

Born in Turin 1917, Giuseppe Ratti, photographer and owner of Berry Opticians, began a journey destined to lead to international success. It was in a small courtyard in Via Caboto that he began to make technically advanced glasses, designed to satisfy the demands of pilots and sports divers who required comfort, protection and optimum vision.

Thus Protector glasses were produced, using round smoked lenses with rubber edges and attached to the head by means of elastic bands. Soon they were adopted by the Armed Forces and by pilots in the Italian Military Aviation.

The innovation and quality made the Protector glasses the choice for several air forces around the world.

In the 1920’s the famous yellow-brown lens that is mounted on all Persol glasses was created using neutral crystal made from the purest silica.

Model 649, built for tram drivers who needed large glasses to protect their eyes became very successful because of its novelty design. The popularity of this frame made it into the film industry. Actor Marcello Mastroianni, in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita, almost permanently wore Persol’s.

1962 was the year when the USA market began to identify Persol. NASA was already wearing protective goggles supplied by Persol.

 

Famous icon Steve McQueen wore Persol 714 is his film The Thomas Crown Affair which gave MacQueen and his sunglasses a legendary status.