Hi Everyone,
Glasses are one of the most prominent and important accessories anyone has, especially corrective glasses. Yet how much thought do you really give to the types of frames you have? Do you buy them with the thought that they should last you a long time? Or do you rush to your nearest glass frame retailer and opt for the currently most popular frame?
Several years ago friends of ours who came round for dinner had new glasses and I remember thinking they were ever so nice. They told the story how they had been especially made for them in Switzerland, out of carbon and showed me just how light they were.
Fascinated as I was I didn’t give it much thought until last year when I visited Zermatt and a manager at the hotel told me about an exclusive, relatively new store in Zermatt selling glasses that were fully handmade in Switzerland.
It was however not until I physically passed the Marcus Marienfeld glasses shop on my way to the Kleinen Matterhorn cable car, that I simply had to investigate further.
A dangerous step to make as it turned out…The minute I put a pair of Marcus Marienfeld’s glasses on, I knew I would one day have to have a pair.
Keep reading for more about “Slow Glasses Handmade to Perfection in Switzerland”.
Slow Glasses Handmade to Perfection in Switzerland
Meet Marcus Marienfeld, originally a professional jeweller, with artistic blood (obviously based on his creation above), running through his veins.
Marcus started his business as a jeweller in the Swiss mountain village of Brig. Then one day he started to get requests to create frames using precious metals. This was the beginning of an ever growing adventure.
As chance would have it – just as Marcus was starting to get his feelers in the glass frame industry, the Japanese exclusively made the very first Titanium framed glasses. However due to the complexity of the materials they were never able to create a bulk manufacturing process that would render titanium frames to be profitable.
Hearing about this Marcus jumped at the opportunity to produce Titanium glasses in his own factory set up in Brig. His glasses soon became a major player in the Asian luxury glasses segment.
All glass frames are totally made by hand in Switzerland by Marcus himself and his small team of 6. Starting from the drawing of the design right through to the cutting of the materials and insertion of the glass.
No job is ever too small or complex for Marcus – he will always think of a solution – of course the price is a factor in this.
I loved reading about one of his recent collaborations with a winemaker. A concept that evolved over a glass of wine with his friend Olivier Mounir. Leading to the creation of fabulous frames using old wine casks that would otherwise be used for firewood.
Marcus works mainly with Carbon, Titanium, gold, silver and horn – see here for the various collections however note you can also have your glasses especially designed and made for you.
Where to find Marcus Marienfeld glasses:
You’ll find the ever so cute flagship store in Zermatt:
Marcus Marienfeld AG
Oberdorfstrasse 14
3920 Zermatt
+41 79 220 36 14
Marcus Marienfeld glasses are also found in various partner shops around the World – see here for one closest to you.
Alternatively you might like to do what I did and visit the factory in Brig yourself:
Marcus Marienfeld AG
Gewerbestrasse 6
CH-3911 Ried-Brig
+41 27 923 93 09
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Note: This post was written in collaboration with Marcus Marienfeld but all opinions are my own an dI am a genuine fan of the brand!
17 Persons think this post is funky
very nice the Glasses look really very stylish and beautiful love the design