I wrote a post over at GlassyEyes.com on Shuron frames and when I started looking more deeply into it, I realized I was in love. I guess I’ve always harbored feelings for glasses that were a little on the “bold” side. That is even more true now that I can afford to have more than one pair at a time.

Shuron frames are going to cost more than the frames I’ve become used to from 39DollarGlasses, Goggles4U, Optical4Less, EyeBuyDirect and others, but there is a place in my growing collection for a couple of pairs of these truly iconic frames — especially when they’re still dramatically less expensive than the crap at Lens Crafters.

These frames are all-American, like the tattered Levi jeans in my dresser, the 14-year old BMW in the garage (OK, so I have an affinity for a few old German things as well), and listening to the baseball game on the radio in the garage. I started flipping through the pages of Shuron eyeglass frames at BestBuyEyeglasses and had a couple of them catch my eye.

In particular this one — the Shuron Freeway,

in “Crystal”,

but mostly in Demi Gray!

So I said to myself, “Self? Holy crap! We need a pair of those.” And at about $67, the games began.

You may be familiar with another site I’ve had a lot of fun with, GlassyEyes.com — It all started when I broke my glasses and… (you can read more here). Anyway, I got out the trusty ol’ Moleskine and started jotting down Shuron notes. Who has the best deals? How much do they want for lenses? I had to know — and I had to share. I’ve come up with a few places to compare, and a plan for getting these frames from the online retailers, to our faces in one to three (or four) easy to exciting steps.

If you have a kid or have a small face, Shuron has reintroduced the “Triple Play”. As unusual as an actual triple play is, the child or small-faced adult who can pull off the the Triple Play frame is that and even less so. Want to show your kid what it was like to grow up in the 1950’s with near (or far)-sightedness? This is your chance.

Check them out…

I was in the car waiting to pick up the kids from school this afternoon and I decided to use some of the built in wizardry that the iPhone possesses. I called a half dozen boutique optical stores in the area looking for Shurons and found one that carried them. I asked on the price of the Freeway and the Ronsir Revelation frames and was quoted near list price. 

Neither of the online stores listed on this site come close to the list price. Don’t pay for display cases. Pay for frames.

I was cruising through a LensCrafters the other day looking at the ridiculous prices and a big sign with the warranty information caught my eye.

LensCrafters 1-Year Replacement Discount Replace your broken glasses with the same or equivalent pair for 50% of their current retail price within one year of the date of delivery. May not be combined with other discounts, promotions or insurance. 

I asked the clerk what happens if six months down the road the hinge separates from the temple or the nose pad breaks off —  a couple of things that would tend to point to manufacturing defects. She replied, that they would be covered under the warranty. So I pushed her on it, “So they’d be replaced for free?” She said, “No, but they would at 50% off.”  Shuron has a better plan. They give you a year and will replace them as they say here: ALL FRAMES GUARANTEED FOR 1 YEAR FOR MANUFACTURING DEFECTS

No 50% silliness. So there. Get a Shuron and don’t worry about it.

Shuron has released a beautiful (and functional) new product to fit with a few of it’s most classic of frames. I know that I hesitated when I purchased my first pair of Shuron frames — “Do I get them tinted?” I wanted to wear them to work and to go out in (heck, I’m wearing them right now, sitting in my underwear writing this).

I skipped the tint. I also didn’t want to do Transitions, because it seemed akin to putting turbo-charged engine in a vintage 1966 Mustang — just wrong. I did do anti-reflective, but that can be our little secret — along with the underwear.

Anyway, I’ll not have to worry about this anymore.

The folks at Shuron have paired a beautiful polarized sunglasses clip-on with a few of their more popular offerings. It’s available for the Ronsir-Zyl, Ronsir Revelation, and the Ronstrong frames. I bounced a few emails back and forth with questions to Tony at Shuron and he was all too happy to give me the details.

I can’t wait to get a pair of the Shuron Ronsir Revelations with the polarized sunshade — perfect for the boat. Available now for $65 in brown or gray (but if things go well it’s possible they might bring out the G-15 blend of Green and Gray — another very classic look) with chassis colors of gold or silver. Includes a hard-case. Only available directly from Shuron. Click here for more information on ordering.

RETAIL: $150.99 

$85.99 @ BestBuyEyeglasses
$105.95 @ Frames Direct

The Shuron Ronsir Zyl is the classic browline Shuron frame. Malcolm X, and pretty much every G-Man with less than perfect vision wore these for many years. In fact by 1971, Shuron had sold 16,000,000 pairs of Ronsir frames.Solidly built, there is really no reason to dig through the antique stores (or pay their prices!) to get this timeless look. Get them NEW! Nearly every Hollywood 20th Century period-piece is filled with these. How can you NOT have a pair of these to look at/through?

[from GlassyEyes.com] I’m ready for new lenses now in those beautiful, demi-grey Freeways below.

I’m a self-employed guy with a house, three kids and big medical insurance deductible. I wasn’t about to pay a couple of hundred dollars to get my eyes checked with taxes due. That said, I need to make sure my eyes are in tip-top shape. I was at Sam’s Club a couple of weeks ago for a gallon of jalapenos and ten pounds of frozen blueberries when I walked past the optical center. $50? I could afford that — every two years.

I scheduled an appointment and late last week went in and got it done at the store in Eagan, Minnesota. I was greeted by “Sam” (I swear to God) who started me off in the “room o’ technical goodies”. Seated on a stool I rotated to three different machines as he lined things up and pressed buttons that blew puffs of air into my eyes. So far, apart from the sound of shoppers pre-spending their 2008 Flat-Panel Tax Rebates, things weren’t too far of a departure from my more traditional trips to the optometrist’s office. He took my glasses to test them, “Oh, Silhouettes!” I assured him they weren’t. I began to tell him my tale, and as he finished his tests, told me I’d gotten a heck of a “good deal on them”.

A few minutes later, the lovely and talented Dr. Heather Tuttle entered the scene and completed the requisite tests in a surprisingly calming room tucked away amid the intense and unwavering consumerism all around us. She provided me with my prescription (only a tiny change) and directed me back to Sam for my PD measurement. She too, was at least casually interested in the idea of online eyeglasses — and the fact that I was interested in keeping my prescription current.

My existing glasses would be fine for at least the next couple of years. Before ringing me up, Sam said, “So I guess I won’t try to sell you any glasses today.” I laughed, paid my bill, thanked him, and grabbed another gallon of jalapenos on the way out.

The Youngest in Dad’s new Freeways. The UPS guy dropped them off this afternoon. I ordered them last week from BestBuyEyeglasses and they shipped them out via UPS. I got an emailed order confirmation, a shipping confirmation and even the UPS “Delivered” notification which arrived as the truck was pulling away.

The packaging made me laugh and impressed my “green” wife. They arrived in a simple corrugated cardboard box, and the cushioning was being handled by a few pages of the New York Times Super Bowl Sunday edition. The frames came in the Shuron-labeled plastic bag inside a simple eyeglasses slip case my grandfather might have used. That’s fine with me.

I have eyeglass cases coming out of my ears. I’m heading in for an eye appointment next week and these will be shipped off to 39DollarGlasses immediately afterwards for a simple pair of lenses. I’m already looking forward to getting them back.