5051
Characteristics | |
| Manufacturer | Netoptic S.A |
| Made in | Lot (BE) |
| Period | 1980s |
| Brand | Opaline |
| Technical | Acetate |
DISCOVERY | |
| Location | Saintes (Belgium) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Digging Type | On site, still running company |
Acetate — cellulose acetate, zylonite or C2H4O2 for the chemists out there — is a fiber based on cotton or wood pulp cellulose. In recent decades, it has often been replaced by cheaper petro-based fibers to cut cost (e.g. injected nylon and polyester, so petroleum-based plastics), which has impacted quality.
This Opaline 5051 (originally prescription glasses like most of our sunnies) definitely attests to the superiority of acetate over other lookalike materials, maybe even over the tortoise shell it was first supposed to imitate. Not bad...
Archive: View of the factory
