The Plastics

In the past frames were made of tortoise shell, but nowadays all plastic frames are made of cellulose, both natural cellulose and chemical extract cellulose. A plastic frame is light and most of them are thick and don’t have nose pads. There are three types of plastic frames as follows:

Acetate

"Hand Made" - Better frames are made from Cellulose Acetate or Zyl, as it is often called. This is the material the optical world recognizes as the finest and over 90% of it is produced in Italy by a company named Mazzucchelli or by its sister company in Hong Kong. As differentiated from typical plastics that are derived from the petroleum products, Cellulose Acetate is derived from natural cotton and wood fibers and is subjected to a process of steaming, coloring, molding and cutting to achieve the necessary characteristics: translucency, shine, fluidity, subtlety and rich color patterns. Cellulose Acetate is used to make colors as simple as black or tortoise shell in hundreds of variations, to special colors like Lipstick Red, Lime Green or colors that change depending on the angle you see them from, and everything in between.
Acetate Frame - it’s a solid and glossy plastic. Most of these frames will have metal wire inside the plastic temple in order to provide strength and ease in fitting. They also need heating when fitting. The price of acetate frame is quite cheap, but it cannot be fixed easily when broken.
When Italian materials are used in designer frames it is made by pouring liquefied Cellulose Acetate, in colors chosen and mixed into large molds where they cool and then harden. More complex colorations are produced somewhat like a sandwich: several colors, in separate layers, and permanently bonded together. Some special colors are made up of up to 4 separate and distinct color layers. The possible color combinations of these "laminates" are endless. As the process of making the glasses proceeds, the material is skived, or shaved away, exposing these different layers and creating stunning visual effects.
The frames are then "tumbled" with teakwood chips for as long as a week to make them smooth. The frame is then hand polished using a wax and emollient shining cream then buffed to a high luster.
• Whether the manufacturers are domestic or international, all the plates of acetate come from the same Italian supplier, who has the monopoly.
• Natural material, 80% cotton or wood cellulose. The texture is agreeable.
• Is warped by digital milling and thermal forming to give curved outlines.
• The variety of colors is unlimited thanks to the blended colors, but also thanks to the superposition of laminated plates of different colors.

Pros : easy to warp, hypoallergenic, used for aesthetic purposes, stylish products, pleasant to wear.

Cons : thick and rigid products. Loses its sheen with time