Robert Windsor Glasses are a style of round frames. The Windsor style of eyeglasses, which was first introduced in 1880, remained popular through the First World War. The main features of the Windsor frame are round lenses, no nose pads, and temples that loop behind your ear. These vintage round glasses were available in nickel, silver, roman steel, and gold-filled. Zylo (celluloid) was often used to cover the lenses and temples. The most common Zylo colors include black, brown, and blond.
Cable temples are another common feature of vintage Windsor glasses. Instead of today’s skull temples, Windsor eyeglass frames featured cable temples that wrap around the ears and are much longer than today’s temples. This is partly because people rode horses back before cars were invented. They didn’t want their old eyeglasses to drop off their faces while riding. They are secured to the face by the cable temples.
The Windsor eyeglass frames were usually gold- or silver-colored and often covered with tortoise (Zylo) plastic. Their development was closely linked to the tortoiseshell old eyeglasses. Antique tortoiseshell eyeglasses were difficult to make due to their fragile and easy breaking. Someone realized that it was possible to have eyeglass frames made of metal with a tortoise coating. These vintage frames would closely resemble tortoiseshell glasses but without the risk of the frames breaking due to the metal body. These eye wires can be opened to change prescription lenses. This prevents antique eyeglasses from breaking during installation.
John Lennon Glasses
John Lennon Glasses style frame was worn in the past by John Lennon and Ernest Hemingway as well as Groucho Marx and Theodore Roosevelt.
John Lenon Glasses are sometimes referred to as John Lenon Glasses because he often wore round Windsor-style eyeglasses. John Lenon wore many styles of glasses, including Windsors and Marshwood. We offer a wide selection of John Lennon frames in a variety of styles.
Vintage Round Glasses
One of the most popular styles of vintage round glasses is the Windsor frame. There are many styles of round vintage glasses available, including tortoiseshell, pince-nez glasses, and Marshwood.
Practical considerations
Windsor glasses have some distinct advantages over other styles because of their minimalist nature.
Glasses with eye rims of a specific shape could be subject to vendor locking. This means that the only company that can make new lenses for a frame that has been purchased is that company. The circle, on the other hand, is a simple geometric shape that can be found in many brands’ eye rims (i.e. It is also in the public domain. This means that Windsor glasses or any glasses with circular eye rims, made from one brand might be compatible with the lenses of another brand.
Glass lenses used to be made from glass. They had to be ground against an abrasive to conform to the shape of the eye rims. It took skill and special equipment to get the lens to fit an oddly shaped eye rim. Because it was easy to carve a circle, circular lenses were usually cheaper to make. Modern lenses are made from plastic and can be made in any shape you like.
Although the frame is thinner, it requires less metal and thus costs less to make, Windsor glasses can be broken more easily if they are crushed.
