Single-vision, from €85
Standard 1.5 index with anti-reflective and scratch coatings included. Right for anything up to about −3.00. Seven working days.
Frame 01 of the run · beta-titanium
Kessel
Nine grams of Japanese beta-titanium with an acetate brow strip, cut shallow so it clears a strong cheekbone. The frame we have re-run four times and still cannot keep in the drawer.
€285In stock · dispatched within two working days
Teun Oldenhof, bookbinder, Kampen — Kessel in Burnt Tortoise
Three people, one frame
It does not
look like this
on everyone.
Same front, same bridge, three different faces. This is the whole reason we photograph frames worn rather than laid on a sheet of paper.
The material
The rims are 0.9 mm beta-titanium wire, bent on a jig and brazed rather than welded, which is why the join sits flush enough to lose under a thumb. Titanium does not take colour the way acetate does, so the three colourways are anodised at different voltages — Brushed Titanium at 18 V, Burnt Tortoise over a copper strike, Ink at 42 V.
The brow strip and the temple tips are Mazzucchelli block acetate, the same sheet as the Welle, cut from the offcut so nothing goes in the bin. Hinges are five-barrel, no spring, replaceable with a 1.4 mm driver.
Total weight on the scale, glazed in 1.6 index: 23 grams. Unglazed: 9 grams.
In the box
- The frame, glazed or with plano demo lenses
- A hard case in oiled saddle leather, stitched in Kampen
- A washed cotton pouch that doubles as the cloth
- A 1.4 mm driver and two spare hinge screws
- The bench card — who cut it, which sheet, which week
- A prepaid return label, already addressed
Delivery is free in the Netherlands and Belgium, €9 elsewhere in the EU and €24 worldwide. Returns stay open for thirty days from the day it arrives.
Three ways to glaze it
Send a photograph of a prescription written in the last two years, or come in and we will measure. Everything is cut by one lab in Apeldoorn that we have used since the first run.
High index 1.6, from €125
About a third thinner at the edge, which matters on a rim this fine. Recommended past −3.00 and standard past −5.00. Ten working days.
Varifocal, from €265
A 15 mm corridor, which the Kessel has just enough front depth for. We measure the fitting height on your face, not from the box. Twelve working days.
Blue-filter and photochromic coatings are €45 each. Plano demo lenses are fitted free if you want the frame now and the prescription later.
Mira Hollander — the rim sits clear of the lash line by 2 mm
Measurements
Read your
own temple
first.
If your current frame reads 46▫20▫145 or anything within two millimetres of it, the 47 will sit right. The Kessel runs slightly shallow, so if you wear varifocals already, take the 49.
47 mmLens width
21 mmBridge
145 mmTemple
38 mmFront depth
136 mmTotal width
9 gUnglazed weight
Buying the Kessel
Can I try it at home first?
Yes. Five Frames Home sends any five of the twelve with plano demo lenses for €5 and seven days. Most people put the Kessel in that five and about half of them keep it. The €5 comes off the frame if you buy one.
How much is delivery and how long will it take?
Free in the Netherlands and Belgium, €9 to the rest of the EU, €24 worldwide, tracked in every case. Unglazed it leaves within two working days. With lenses, add seven to twelve working days depending on which of the three you choose.
What is the returns window?
Thirty days from arrival, unworn outdoors, in the case it came in. The prepaid label is already in the box. Frames glazed to your prescription cannot go back, but we will re-cut the lenses once at cost if we measured wrong.
Will it take my varifocals?
The 47 and the 49 will, at 38 mm and 41 mm front depth. The 45 will not — there is not enough glass below the optical centre for a corridor, and we will say so rather than sell it to you.
What if I bend it?
Beta-titanium comes back. Post it to Geerstraat or bring it in and we will true it on the jig while you wait. Hinges are replaced free for the life of the frame; a snapped rim is a €70 repair and takes about a fortnight.
Try it on
a Thursday.
Fittings are free and take half an hour · Geerstraat 14, Kampen
Book a fitting →
Maud Lenting, translator, Alkmaar — Kessel in Burnt Tortoise, €285