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Claire Goldsmith

Claire Goldsmith Logo

Clair Goldsmith is a new brand for a new generation. The CG Legacy Collection takes inspiration from British history and heritage. Claire, a Londoner born and bred, takes concepts from the past and carefully applies them today to achieve an unmistakable British aesthetic. Looking back at fashion, automotive, architecture and industry along with the many British cult movements such as mods and rockers, Claire uses this rich past as the core of the design process making for a stylistically dynamic collection.


Designed in London – Handcrafted in Japan, Germany & Italy

Established 2010

Shop Our In Stock Inventory Visit The Claire Goldsmith Website

About

Claire Goldsmith is the great-granddaughter of Oliver Goldsmith, one of the most influential designers and creators of modern-day eyewear and the man who once dressed the eyes of iconic fashionistas such as Audrey Hepburn and Michael Caine. Today, Claire, a 4th generation Goldsmith, makes some of the world’s most sophisticated and beautifully designed sunglasses and spectacles under the Claire Goldsmith name.


For Claire and her team of eyewear enthusiasts, it’s been a natural progression from working with Oliver Goldsmith’s incredible archive of vintage frames, to wanting to launch new collections of both sun and optical designs. Simply developing and refining the classics leads to a desire to re-work them and in turn that leads to totally new designs which clearly carry a contemporary aesthetic.

Woman in a herringbone jacket wearing a black Claire Goldsmith frame
Four Claire Goldsmith Winston frames in green, blue, tortoise and brown

Design & Craftsmanship

Claire Goldsmith works with factories all over the world. For them it is not about WHERE they are making their frames and much more about WHO is making their frames. There is no one place that is best, which is why they pick and choose their factories based on nothing but skill, experience and a passion for what they do.


They spend their days searching for specialists and only work with skilled craftsmen. Some of those craftsmen are in England having made frames their whole lives. They create all of the bespoke & custom sized frames. Some are in Italy – the country who literally created eyewear with flair and still have some of the most highly experienced and skilled craftsmen in the world. Some of them are in Asia where technology in manufacturing leads the way. Others are in Germany where precision & excellence is standard.


One thing however is a promise. They will only ever use the best people, in the best factories working with the best materials.

History

Oliver Goldsmith has been a family-run business for over 80 years. Founded in 1926 by P. Oliver Goldsmith, the world of spectacles was about to be revolutionized. Sunglasses gained high-profile status during the mid-fifties and a selection of unusual designs started to appear. OG’s were becoming not only a means of protecting eyes from the sun, but also a fashion statement. Dress designers approached Oliver Goldsmith to create frames that would complement their seasonal collections.


For four generations the Goldsmith family has been creating incredible eyewear that has pushed the boundaries of expectation, self-expression, and individuality. During her childhood Claire was surrounded by a sense of what her family was doing. “I used to pore over the pictures of iconic celebrities and models wearing Goldsmith glasses. Michael Caine, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Peter Sellers were the poster boys and girls for style-defining eyewear.

Man wearing a turtleneck and a black square Claire Goldsmith frame
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