France is well-known for producing high-quality and reliable products. From perfumes and chocolates to household appliances and various electronic products. But what about sunglasses? In this article, I’ll be looking at sunglasses made in France.
Brands that Offer Sunglasses Made in France? (The Short Answer)
It turns out that there are a few options when it comes to sunglasses made in France. I found 6 brands that met the criteria for this article. They are Lafont, Vuarnet, Maison Nathalie Blanc, Gouverneur Audigier, Traction Production, and Kirk & Kirk.
French Sunglasses Brand List (That are Made in France)
Now that we have our French sunglasses manufacturers, let’s take a look at each company in a little more detail.
Lafont
This proudly French company was founded in 1923 in Paris’ Madeleine district. The company’s purpose was to make high-quality glasses that are stylish as well as functional. Fast forward to today and it’s clear to see that Lafont has achieved its goal.
Its products are highly sought after, you can find Lafont’s sunglasses being sold in countries all over the world. With it being such a large company, you’d be forgiven for assuming that it carries out its manufacturing overseas, however, this is not the case.
An impressive 95% of Lafont’s collection is handmade in France. Although, I am unsure where the other 5% is manufactured. However, its glasses made in France are all clearly labeled as made in France which makes things much easier. For more information regarding Lafont’s manufacturing, check this out.
Manufacturing a pair of Lafont glasses takes anywhere from 8 to 14 weeks depending on the complexity of the product. This is due to the many different steps each product needs to go through before hitting store shelves.
For those wanting to take a look at some of Lafont’s sunglasses, I’ve got you covered. Here’s a link to the company’s product page, and here are a few options for you to check out.
Vuarnet
Vuarnet has been in business since 1957. It was founded in Paris, and from its inception, right up to today the company has been manufacturing its sunglasses in France. The business really took off in the 60s after several famous faces started wearing Vuarnet’s sunglasses, this includes the likes of Romy Schneider and Mick Jagger.
Vuarnet produces its own lenses as well as frames. Its lenses are made out of a mineral glass material, this material is 100% natural and 100% recyclable. As for where it gets this material, it comes from the Seine et Marne rivers just a mere 25km away from Paris. Its manufacturing facility is located in Meaux, Paris.
Since Vuarnet specializes in manufacturing eyewear, it will come as no surprise to learn that it has lots of options when it comes to sunglasses. Here’s a link to its page where you can see all of the company’s sunglasses.
For those wanting to see a couple of products, here are some of Vuarnet’s best-selling sunglasses.
Maison Nathalie Blanc
Maison Nathalie Blanc was founded in 2015. It is a fairly new company but it has already established itself as a high-quality eyewear manufacturer. This company is truly a French company, its pieces are manufactured in the Jura region of France. This is a well-known location among eyewear enthusiasts as it is the birthplace of the French eyeglass industry.
Maison Nathalie Blanc manufactures all of its products in France, however, I wasn’t able to find where all of its materials come from. I did see one section on its website referring to a German wax. I assume this comes from Germany but I wasn’t able to confirm that.
Here are a few of Maison Nathalie Blanc’s sunglasses for those wanting to have a look for themselves.
Gouverneur Audigier
Gouverneur Audigier was founded in 1878 in Morez, France. For over 150 years the company has been hyper-focused on manufacturing nothing but the best quality eyewear possible. This has made it a world-renowned company that has sold glasses to happy customers in countries all around the world.
Each frame is handmade in France by highly skilled craftsmen and women. Every pair goes through anywhere between 28 and 35 steps during the manufacturing process, this ensures that each frame is built to the highest possible standard.
Gouverneur Audigier has four pairs of sunglasses in its collection. It also has four different types of solar clips. These are attachments that can be added to a regular pair of glasses, turning them into sunglasses. Here’s a link to the company’s solar clips, and here are its sunglasses options for you to check out.
Traction Productions
Just before diving into this entry, its web pages didn’t translate particularly well from French to English so some of the wording was tricky to understand. This only really applies to the first paragraph in this section as the information regarding manufacturing and specific products was pretty easy to understand. While the information in the first paragraph is correct, there are three conflicting dates when it comes to when the company started producing eyewear.
Traction Productions was founded in 1872, the company originally labeled itself as a hair ornament manufacturing company. It wasn’t until either 1986,1989, or 1999 that the brand started to manufacture stylish eyewear. It is a family-owned business and it’s been passed down through 5 generations. This company is well-known in the world of fashion and its products have been featured on numerous magazine covers over the years.
Its products are made in Jura, France. This is the same place as a couple of the entries in this article, Jura is one of the best places for manufacturing eyewear as the area has had a long history of manufacturing high-quality eyewear.
It doesn’t look like you can just buy a pair of sunglasses from its website in the same way as you buy things on other websites like Amazon. You can browse through its catalog, but it looks like you’ll have to contact the company in order to actually purchase a pair. Here’s a link to Traction Productions’ product page and here’s a link to its contact page.
Kirk & Kirk
Kirk & Kirk was originally named Kirk Brothers. It was founded in 1919 in London. Fast forward to 2013 and the company now goes by the name Kirk & Kirk. It’s an eyewear frame manufacturer that manufactures sunglasses.
The company is based in London and its products are designed at its London office. However, as for the actual manufacturing, this takes place in France. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find out where exactly in France its products are made, but according to the company’s FAQ section on its official website, all of its frames are made in France from start to finish.
As for its sunglasses, Kirk & Kirk has four different options for you to choose from. They are as follows.
Honorable Mentions
I encountered one company that does manufacture some of its products in France, but I wasn’t able to find definitive proof regarding its manufacturing so it gets an honorable mention. I also found one other brand that didn’t quite make the cut for the list above. This was due to the fact that it was very difficult finding out which of its glasses are sunglasses.
Julbo
Julbo dates back to 1888 when its founder Jules Baud designed and created eyewear for crystal miners. Since then, the company has expanded and now manufactures helmets, goggles, and sunglasses.
I came across a handful of articles that had Julbo down as a French manufacturer, but it seems like there’s more to it than that. From what I was able to find, it looks like 75% of the company’s manufacturing takes place between France and Romania, as for the other 25%, I couldn’t find out where the manufacturing is carried out.
So, while it’s true that some of the manufacturing is carried out in France, I wasn’t able to find out which of its products are French made. I’d recommend reaching out to the company and asking which of its sunglasses are made in France. Here’s a link to the company’s contact page.
Lunettes Alf
Lunettes Alf is a small French boutique glasses manufacturer located in Paris. Its products are all handmade in France.
While Lunettes Alf conducts all of its manufacturing in France, some of its materials come from places outside of France. But this isn’t uncommon in the eyewear industry.
As mentioned in the intro of this section, finding out which of its products are sunglasses and which are regular glasses proved to be quite difficult. I found several sources stating that some of Lunettes Alf’s products are sunglasses, but I wasn’t able to find much to back that up on its website. Here’s a link to the company’s product page for those wanting to take a look for themselves.
