Saying "it's been making em' since 1937" is a bit dishonest considering modern day ray-ban is just a sad low low quality hollow brand of luxottica, mostly made in China and there "acetate" isn't even real anymore, just injection molded crap. The ray ban name just stands for overprice garbage trying to make a quick buck off a company's legacy.
Alee.GI did not know that. Which brands are producing quality sunglasses for around the same prices as ray-bans? Or what are the best brands sunglasses now?
Alee.GI think you should post valid citations for such bold claims. AFAIK the Italian company that bought Ray Ban has stated not a single piece or part of Ray Bans are made in China (found quote in money.cnn article). Another quote from this article: http://fortune.com/2016/01/27/ray-ban-luxottica-retooled/ states that when Ray Ban was purchased it was a shoddy product that fell apart but production was consolidated to a single Italian facility.
DecidenceYou realize what you just posted is a "print advertisement" for luxottica right? The article is literally an ad designrd to make them look good, so of course they're gonna make it look like they saved rayban, that article holds no weight as it not real. Frankly they're a scummy company and I wouldn't trust anything they say.
As far as Chinese made frames I have physically help raybans in my hand that say made in China, and that was at a sunglass hut their official seller. Additionally luxottica like to keep info like that intentionally locked down, they say nothing about where they're made, but if you look around you find some threads stating many are produced in China now.
https://amp.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/35nkyu/my_ray_ban_clubmasters_arm_says_made_in_china/
http://www.opticsplanet.com/msgboard/about12-18069.html
http://www.ebay.com/gds/Can-Authentic-Ray-Ban-Sunglasses-be-Made-In-China-/10000000176285638/g.html
Also you'll notice websites like zappos now just list them as "imported" if it was made in Italy they'd advertise that.
additonally I tried to find the cnn money article you where talking about to see if it was written a while ago but I can't even find it, so as of now your "credible information" amounts to a paid ad written to look like an article by the scummy company themselves.
TpicklesI've heard Maui jims are good, retrosuperfuture makes interesting shades, dragon alliance and electric are also both good. frankly I just look for expensive pairs on really good sale and get those. The only time I'd consider rayban is if you can get the for under $50.
Alee.GThe article is http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/24/luxury/cost-of-sunglasses/index.html and the quote is "No part of the product is made in China."
Also, I own a pair of the new style wayfarers purchased through Sunglass Hut back in June, and they say "Made in Italy" on the frames. I never saw anything saying "China" or just "Imported" when I was in their store this summer.
Decidence"All the lenses are made in Italy," Beneventi said, as are all the Wayfarer components. "No part of the product is made in China." This is the full quote from the article. Notice he is very careful with his wording; "All lenses are made in Italy," this is true all their lenses come from Italy. And now the important part, "as are all wayfarer components...'No part of the product is made in China.'" This is technically true as he is referring exclusively to the wayfarer style. All wayfarers and aviators are still made Italy, other models, including this one Have atleast partly outsourced manufacturing to china. Meaning they still produce a certain percentage in Italy and the rest in Chin. And yes considering you bought wayfarers they're not gonna be made in china as that's one of the few they haven't outsourced.
Alee.GI see, and I notice there is a "Made in ... " stamp on these as well but I can't make it out. Would really like clarification though... or maybe I will just go into the sunglass hut up the street and take a look myself.
DecidenceI own a pair of Clubmasters that I had my prescription put in. I also bought a pair of RayBan frames for my everyday prescription glasses. Both are made in China. As for the quality of the Clubmasters they are decent, however, I have another pair of prescription sunglasses in a similar style by Brooks Brothers that seem to be of a much higher quality and feel more durable. all were purchased at a Luxotica owned major eyeglass store ( which I did not know at the time of purchase). I believe the Brooks Brothere is their brand as well.
panzerxiiiI'd say the same, I normally I just buy on sale but those are both good companies, retrosuperfiture is really cool and uses carl Zeiss Leander's but theyre slightly out of my price range
DecidenceMy guess is if these where made in Italy they would heavily advertise that on the drop as it can be a big selling point. Now personally I wouldby even have a problem with "made in China" if they where dropping these for under $50 dollars, hell Id probably even get a pair. They're certainly higher quality than any gas station shade, the problem is the quality doesn't match the price.