3Sixteen Round Sunglasses

Eyewear is the one accessory that is not optional and not removable, which is a strange thing to say about an object most people choose in ten minutes. A frame sits on the most-looked-at part of a person for every hour of the day, and unlike a watch or a bag it cannot be put in a drawer when it stops suiting the occasion. That argues for taking the choice seriously, and for choosing a shape you can live inside rather than one you are currently enjoying.

The round frame is the oldest shape in modern eyewear and the least tied to a decade, which is its whole advantage. It softens an angular face and it does not date, because it has already survived every period in which it might have. What separates a good one from a poor one is not the outline, which anyone can copy, but the thickness of the acetate, the way the front is bevelled, and the hinge.

This one is cut from 8mm acetate, which is substantial. Thin acetate is cheaper, lighter, and looks it.

Why we selected it

The hinge is the honest answer. A five-barrel German steel hinge is the difference between a frame you own for a decade and one that develops a wobble in a year, and it is invisible at the point of sale, which is why most eyewear does not have one. We also wanted frames a customer could take straight to an optician, because we are not interested in selling sunglasses to people who need to see. And it let us carry something from this house that is not menswear, which matters more than it sounds.

3Sixteen made these outside its usual production entirely, in Italy, which is where acetate eyewear of this construction is actually made.

Materials and construction

Eight-millimetre bio-based circular acetate. Five-barrel German steel hinges with triangular rivets. Lenses with full UV protection, and the frame will accept optical lenses. Made in Italy. Frame width 145mm, lens width 47.5mm, bridge width 23mm.

Sizing and dimensions

A 145mm frame width is a medium-to-wide front and will suit most adult faces without crowding a narrow one. The 47.5mm lens keeps the round shape restrained rather than oversized, so this reads as a considered frame and not a costume one. Acetate can be heat-adjusted at the temples and nose by any optician, so a frame that sits slightly wrong out of the box is usually a five-minute fix rather than a wrong purchase. Worth knowing before you decide.

How they are worn

Genuinely unisex, and worn by both. Against the whole 3Sixteen range they read as the one deliberate piece of design in an otherwise practical wardrobe, which is a useful thing for a wardrobe to have.

Care

Acetate does not like heat, so keep them out of a hot car and off the dashboard, which is what warps a front. Clean the lenses wet with a soft cloth rather than dry, because dry cloth grinds grit across the coating. Store them in the case. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The same construction in a square front is the Square Sunglasses. We wrote the frames up in the Library when they arrived, and that piece is 3Sixteen eyewear.