3D Printing

Can 3D Printed Reading Glasses Become Jewellery?

Glasses are yet another product that can greatly benefit from the 3D printing manufacturing technologies. Whether it is intended for a reading aid, or for protecting eyes from the sun, 3D printed glasses can produce economically favourable models compared with traditional methods, use lighter and more bendable materials and they are more environmentally sustainable as as there are little to no by-products deriving from the processing.

Moreover, 3D printed glasses offer manufacturers the freedom to produce many different designs and versions of their product without having to worry about production volume to cost ratios. You can simply follow many different approaches and serve radically different needs, or develop an “omni version” that would combine characteristics to fit to as many people as possible.

The first approach is the one that Canadian artist Bruno Gervais followed to bring a new unique pair of reading glasses to the market. The name given to these glasses is Cortica and they look like they came straight from the Reinassance, but that was exactly what Bruno intended. A pair of unique reading glasses that would be both functional and valued as a beautiful piece of jewellery.

Corticamodel 3d printed gold reading glasses

For added aesthetic value – and for the glasses to actually be considered a piece of jewellery –  Bruno decided to use valuable metals as the materials of choice for  most of the final versions and settled on five options in three different designs. The top selection is made of pure brass, plated in 22k gold, while other choices include raw or polished brass and polished bronze. There is also a white plastic option.

I find the design of the glasses is exquisite and really enchanting. The three design approaches are differentiated by the framework roundness, bridge curvature and different support mechanism. The lenses are held from the inner part of the skeleton and appear to be “floating” inside the framework, while the unique bridge design assures that the glasses are perfectly balanced when used. For those of you who want a completely tailored pair of these glasses based on your face dimensions, Bruno can create highly customized versions of Cortica to meet these needs.

Cortica 3d printed gold reading glassses

The glasses are commercially available through Shapeways’ online store, where you will also find more of Bruno’s creations, such as a pocket holder for Cortica and many beautiful and unique earrings. The prices range from 8$ for the plastic pair, 65$ for the raw brass one, 83$ for polished brass and bronze pairs, and up to 120$ for the gold-plated design.

So, if you take reading seriously, or you just want to add a unique piece of jewellery to your collection, the Cortica glasses are sure to appeal, and demonstrate once again the wide scope of applications and uses that 3D printing can generously provide us with.