Oliver Goldsmith

General information

PURE GOLDSMITH

For four generations the Goldsmith family have been creating incredible eyewear that has pushed the boundaries of expectation, self expression and individuality. During her childhood Claire was surrounded by a sense of what her family were doing. “I used to pore over the pictures of iconic celebrities and models wearing Goldsmith glasses. Michael Caine, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Peter Sellers, were the poster boys and girls for style defining eyewear. I wanted to try to continue the Legacy of Goldsmith eyewear.”

ORIGINATORS OF FASHION EYEWEAR

First to see glasses as fashion accessories, first to make sunspecs, first to make ‘winter sunglasses’,...first to work alongside fashion houses to create one-off pieces for the catwalks, first to appear in Vogue and Queen, and first to be endorsed by celebrities and Royals, OG pioneered a whole new concept. Eye Wear. Sunglasses continued to gain high profile status during the 1960’s & 1970’s and a selection of unusual designs started to appear. OG’s were becoming not only a means of protecting eyes from the sun, but also a fashion statement. Dress designers such as Dior and Givenchy commissioned Goldsmith to create frames that would complement their seasonal collections. The stars regularly visited Goldsmith’s Poland Street showroom included Grace Kelly, Peter Sellers, Nancy Sinatra, Ursula Andress and Nina Simone. The visitors’ book they autographed can still be seen in the OG showroom today.

CG: A NEW GENERATION

For Claire and her team of eyewear enthusiasts, it’s been a natural progression from working with Oliver Goldsmith’s incredible archive of vintage frames, to wanting to launch new collections of both sun and optical designs. “We cannot help but create! Simply developing and refining the classics leads to a desire to re-work them and in turn that leads to totally new designs which clearly carry a contemporary aesthetic. We have to explore our curiosity using up-to-date technologies and experimenting with alternative materials. I feel that our journey of discovery with the CG brand has only just begun.”

INSPRIATION

CG designs are very much inspired by British history and heritage. Claire, a Londoner born and bred, takes concepts from the past and carefully applies them today to achieve an unmistakable British aesthetic.
Looking back at fashion, automotive, architecture and industry along with the many British cult movements such as mods and rockers, Claire uses this rich past as the core of the design process making for a stylistically dynamic collection.

HANDMADE BY CRAFTSMEN

Some things however, will never change. We will always work exclusively with skilled craftsmen. Some of those craftsmen will be here in England having made frames their whole lives. Some will be Italy - the country that literally created eyewear with flair. Some of them will be in Japan where technology in manufacturing leads the way. Others will be in Germany where precision & excellence is standard.

NO COMPROMISE

We will only ever use the best people, in the best factories working with the best materials. Goldsmith glasses will never be anything less that the best. Whether we work with the wonderful and charismatic Italians , the accurate and well built Germans, the technologically advanced Japanese, or just simply making our frames right here in England, we will always ensure the quality and design excellence of the product is unmistakably there.

CG: LEGACY COLLECTION

The Claire Goldsmith: LEGACY collection pays homage to the spirit of vintage styling combining old school manufacturing techniques with a distinctive contemporary aesthetic.

No logos allow the design and the wearer’s individual style to speak for itself.

Perfect balance, highest grade lenses, finest raw materials, all made by craftsmen who are eyewear specialists ensure that these are the finest glasses money can buy.
We think them of as Modern Classics. Uniquely sculptured temples, extremely comfortable and noticeable for the right reasons, CG: Legacy is everything you would expect from a Goldsmith product.