When the reality dawned on Poul-Jorn Lindberg that he would have to wear glasses, he realised, in spite of being an optician himself in Denmark, that there were no frames in his own shop that appealed to him. In particular he thought the frames of the time were heavy, uncomfortable and too rigid. He wanted something that would be flexible, light and comfortable.
On top of these, however, he wanted them to practically invisible to the eye. The idea for Lindberg glasses was born in that moment and since then they’ve gone on to become the choice of discerning people throughout the world. There are many famous faces found behind Lindberg glasses, although we’ll not be exploring that in this article. Instead, let us spend a few moments to explore some of the key facts that have carved out an almost cult-like following for Lindberg in the eyewear community.
As an optician, Lindberg knew what he wanted. However, he didn’t have the knowledge of materials or design to create something completely new – for that he called upon the services of Danish architect Hans Dissing to help create the original glasses, solving several problems with elegant simplicity.
The first design was the iconic Titanium Air, a design that still receives searches on Google every day. Considering this was created back in 1983, that’s an astonishing feat of fashion that transcends the years. Manufactured from simple twisted strips of Titanium, with medical silicone nose-pads and no welding, rivets or screws, they quickly became not only very comfortable glasses, but also objects of desire for their elegant design.
So, what is it that makes Lindberg glasses such a popular choice? It comes down to those initial goals that Lindberg had when he discovered his own need for glasses…
- Lightweight – some of the Lindberg range weigh as little as 1.5 grammes – that’s about as close to weightless as you can get while still maintaining structural integrity.
- Flexible – the core range is manufactured from the ultra-strong but very light alloy of Titanium. This means that the arms of the glasses are incredibly thin – perhaps as little as one millimetre. As a result of this the glasses have a comfortable amount of flex in them that’s just not possible with thicker, heavier materials.
- Comfortable – with the factory having a range of components that provides up to three billion different combinations of glasses, it’s easy to see why the glasses can be made to fit your face like a second skin.
- Practically invisible – the introduction of rimless glasses came with the Air Titanium. Now rimless glasses can be seen in every high street optician, although only those who offer Lindberg can claim to be the authentic and the original rimless glasses from Denmark.
In later years, Lindberg have introduced glasses with more conventional rims, but retained the screw-free hinges and lightweight materials that have made them such a watchword for quality and prestige.