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product code : k5530 :
£ 125
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1980's/90's gold (Arista) metal frame marked
BAUSCH & LOMB RAY-BAN USA
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Original B&L G15 lenses etched w/logo
condition
size
lens spec
other info
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Bausch & Lomb actually launched their 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses
with this very design, in 1937 and it is still in production today.
It was their response to an approach from an aviator in 1936,
who needed better protection from the sun's rays during flights.
Here they are in a 1939 US catalogue on sale to the public.
This is what has become known as the classic Ray-Ban aviator
and in WW2, B&L were to make their 'anti-glare' sunglasses for
army and navy pilots, and other military personnel, hence
General
Macarthur wearing them in the Philippines in 1944. There were
variations in specifications of these wartime Ray-Bans and while
Macarthur wore the gold-fill frames, military issue was plain nickel
silver. After the war, the style continued to be popular as they
were practical for all kinds of outdoor activities and recreation,
boosted no doubt by
young US shooting champ, Arthur Cook, who
won a gold in the 1948 Olympic Games in London and then modelled
this very style back home in 1949. Since then Ray-Bans have moved
far from their military origins and after a Walk on the Wild Side,
Lou Reed was wearing them by 1976 and a slew of celebrities have
followed in his wake. Now of course B&L no longer make them
(Luxottica bought Ray-Ban in 1999) but this pair was made by B&L
in the USA in and around the late 1980's/early nineties, when the
white Ray-Ban logo appeared on the lenses. This pair looks hardly
worn, even though it is pushing 30 years old and is in the large
(62mm) size.
— klasik
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