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The three-day Opti Munich show was memorable for the large numbers of practitioners prepared to queue for an hour at a time to pay for entry. For that they got to see the latest eyewear designs and lens launches of some 600 exhibitors, as well as the opportunity to partake in culinary treats from the stands of Zeiss through to Rupp + Hubrach.
In terms of style, it would seem that the boundaries between the UK and Germany are blurring, with greater emphasis on wearable colours Ð such as greens, larger eye shapes and, for the ladies, frosted acetates.
For Rodenstock, which sold off its frame division NiGuRa last year, the concentration was on Porsche Design and eyewear under the company name.

Holger Burkhardt, head of public and brand communications, explained that it was concentrating on a high-value, high-quality strategy Ð 'putting the Rodenstock brand into the limelight'.
Lightweight plastics were the order of the day in the Trogamides collection, with frosted acetate models very much on show.

Explaining the benefits of Trogamides, Burkhardt said: 'There is no steel core with these, which is a great advantage for flexibility and they are more stable than polyamide.'
He also highlighted ProAct, the company's sports eyewear that can be glazed with all prescriptions. ProAct is a wraparound frame design where the lenses are inserted more or less flat, like a prescription frame. The parts of the frame that come into contact with the face are made from a softer material.
Burkhardt pointed out that practitioners would be able to glaze the sports model in their own workshop Ð which was a first.
New for Opti Munich was an extension of the lightweight Ti-Lite collection. The four new models included a retro men's design, with fresh colours added to the titanium styles.
Reflecting the importance of the Porsche brand, Rodenstock had set up a Porsche boutique on its stand, with other Porsche Design product from bicycles to watches and golf bags to penknives, on display. Fittingly, there were a number of new Porsche Design frames and sunglasses, including a smaller version of the signature pilot sunglass. This was model P1018, a more fashion-oriented version that includes an updated lens changing mechanism and spring hinges. Supplied with two pairs of colour-matching lenses, with graduated tints and a partial mirror coating (options include violet and turquoise), these can be replaced quickly for different light conditions.
This selling point will be highlighted in a German Rodenstock consumer campaign entitled 'Time for change'.
Talking about the design, Porsche product manager Marcus Ilmer explained: 'Like the Porsche 911 car, we have evolution, not revolution.'
Another new Porsche sunglass was the P1019, a masculine and fashionable off-square metal, while model 1024 was a modern one-lens sports-shield design, also with restrained dimensions.
There were new Porsche Design frames, with model 7018, a simple-looking plastic model with double action sides. When placed at a certain angle, these automatically open and close, like the door of a modern car.
Porsche Design also made use of titanium, with frame 6021, a sleek looking reverse-supra model, with cut-out brow-bar. Ilmer described Porsche Design as 'the engineers of luxury', whose creations used technical innovation, giving customers an entry into the Porsche Design world.

eyes of fŽraud
After having been bought from Rodenstock by Moulin last year, NiGuRa is now a sister company of Metzler. Its brand line-up has changed slightly, with Porsche Design being retained by Rodenstock and Cerruti 1881 being replaced with French haute couture brand FŽraud.
Opti saw the first outing for the 'Eyes of FŽraud' collection since NiGuRa acquired the licence last August. The sunglass collection is characterised graduated shades and multi-layered acetate temples, incorporating the FŽraud sun motif.
Rodenstock UK continues to distribute NiGuRa products in the UK, but new models on show in Germany may not be available until later in the year. The distributor for FŽraud in the UK has yet to be decided, but it seems likely that NiGuRa's sister company Metzler may take on the distribution of FŽraud and other NiGuRa brands.
The Rbk range from Reebok should be available later this year. Inspired by the look on the streets and in the clubs of New York, it is targeted at young people who place value on their clothes reflecting their lifestyles.

Multi-brand emphasis
Another manufacturer that combines titanium and technology is Lindberg of Denmark, which is now in its seventh year at the Munich show.
Peter Warrer, director of sales and marketing, explained that this was the first time the company had introduced new product there, with Rim models in polished titanium and additional colours.
He added that Lindberg had changed from a brand with two to three products to a multi-brand company with high-end, very functional and fashionable titanium, acetate and precious metal frames.
There were new designs in Acetanium 2, featuring what he described as the thinnest acetate bridge in the world, reinforced with titanium technology. These were combined with the flattened Strip titanium temples.
'With this fashion-oriented frame we have a good angle on the younger market,' said Warrer.
The other highlight of Lindberg's product range was additional titanium colourings of red and green, which, Warrer explained had taken some time to develop.
As well as polished and semi-polished non-coloured titanium, Lindberg had also combined titanium with a 24-carat gold plating. 'It looks like gold, but has the functional advantage of titanium,' he explained.
Another lightweight metal, aluminium was in evidence on Metzler's stand, this time used in the Marc O'Polo collection. Metzler's spokeswoman said that in contrast with the majority of frames being manufactured in thin form, aluminium allowed the creation of thicker designs.
The company also used the flexible Genium material to give frames that were lightweight and more resistant than titanium, while also at a lower price point.
Colours in Paloma Picasso were striking, this time just in black and white, for example different layered acetates with polished finishes.
The Revlon line, at a lower price point, featured temple-decorated frames, many of them suitable for progressive lenses.
Colour was certainly a trend on the Metzler stand, especially with Marc O'Polo where men's frames, many in rectangular styles, featured green and orange colourations.
Green, this time a moss-like shade, cropped up in Booth & Bruce's collection of acetate designs. The UK firm, now in its fifth year, had brought forward the launch of 15 new designs for the Munich show and Peter Booth highlighted new colours in see-through double laminate.
'It used to be that you could only sell plastics in black and tortoiseshell, then crystal. Now people of both sexes are more receptive to colour,' he said.
Another trend was the gradual increase in eye sizes, which he said had been happening over the last couple of years.
'Customers are asking for larger, heavier plastics with chunky sides,' added Booth.
There was also news of a new product launch at the Andrew Actman stand. The Oasis brand, named after the women's high street fashion stores, has now been introduced after a year of development.
Actman highlighted the comprehensive product packaging including a clam-shaped case, which fits into a cleaning-cloth bag, which can be used to protect the case or carry the frame. 'Oasis itself has been very involved in the packaging,' added Actman.
The range is for the younger female market from 17 to late 20s, the age group who shop at Oasis. The styles are suitably young, in shallow eye shapes and bright colours, the majority in acetate.
'It's that type of a collection. The buying person isn't a presbyope and bright colour is important,' said Actman.
While his Karen Millen collection features bigger eye shapes and European-made eyewear, Oasis frames are a different proposition. The small, modern shapes retail from £80-£90 and are manufactured in the Far East.
By contrast, new designs in the Lotus collection were for the presbyopic older man. 'We are putting a lot of effort into Lotus and you have to have a car feel,' explained Actman, who admitted that car brands could be a hard sell in eyewear terms.
New designs featured nylon flexi sides where the spring hinge was visible and there was a Lotus Sport wraparound in nylon that was particularly lightweight and technical with a new locking mechanism to attach the fronts.

inter-continental
Despite having a German distributor, Continental Eyewear retained its presence at Opti because of international interest not only from Switzerland and Austria, but also clients from Malawi, Lebanon and Israel. It will be launching its X-Eyes collection in two months' time.
Sales director Neal Grimason described the collection as 'very different,' adding that it is aimed at 20-35-year-olds. Sourced from all over the world, there will initially be 10 to 12 styles, made from metals, acetate and titanium.
Another UK company, London Bridge Optical was enjoying the show. Its brands include the Londoners range (distributed in the UK by Orange Eyewear) and the Chelsea Collection. It also exports UK collections such as Ferruci and Visage.
Managing director Christopher Bridge said this was its first foray into the German market, adding that there was much demand for the larger eye sizes and that it was a bit of a 'myth' that the Europeans only wear narrow eye sizes.
One company that has never been scared to promote large eye shapes is Cazal, which announced the reintroduction of one of its sunglass models from the 1980s.
Sales director Horst MŸller said that sales had doubled on the previous year and that any slump following the health reforms in Germany had not happened. 'We have never had so many enquiries from new opticians. The key is our collection Ð which is fantastic.'
He added that the company's target group was the mid-40 to 80-year-old market, a sector that was constantly growing. 'If opticians want to have styles like Cazal they must buy Cazal,' he said.
Walter Knšpfle, managing director of German buying and marketing group AMA Optik, explained to optician that it was launching a marketing campaign for its practices aimed at improving the service offered to the over-45 age group.
He said that the programme, '45+' was very important given Germany's and indeed many of the developing countries' ageing populations. Knšpfle said this trend was particularly important for independent practices, who could capitalise on this age group's tendency to opt for a familiar face, rather than the price-led offers of the multiples.
In Germany 52 per cent of people are over 45 years old. AMA has been tailoring its St Moritz and L'Art ranges for this group and using academic research into demographic trends to best predict people's tastes. The marketing programme will help identify the ages that people 'feel they are'. For example a person aged 56-65, will wish they were in their 30s again, but will feel like they're still in their 40s, and will want their spectacles to reflect this. This year the group has released 52 new styles already, most of which will come to the UK.
A spokeswoman for Menrad agreed with AMA's conclusions: 'Men in their 60s like to have frames that make them look like they're in their 40s,' she said. It launched six new models in three colours in its Jaguar Spirit range at the show.
Also new was the Davidoff Prestige line, a luxury gold-plated range for men. There were new colours for Joop, including green, with wavy-layered acetate making an appearance.
Anthony Reid of Vienna-based Baum Vision Europe, the company that distributes Paul Frank Optometrics (optician, April 11, 2003) was pleased with the level of interest it was getting at the show, and indeed across the continent since the company was established in October 2002. It now has over 200 accounts in Europe, and has clients itching to get hold of stock, particularly the Californian brand's limited editions.
The acetate colours used in the sunglass collection are browns, blacks and burgundy. Baum Vision president Shane Baum explained that he wants the collection to sit well together, and that there are no styles left over from the previous season that do not fit in to the collection.
There are 28 models in three to six colours each, with names such as Suzi Quatro and Abba Good Day.
Italian accessories brand Mandarina Duck launched its first eyewear collection at Mido 2003 with the Visibilia Group.
Export manager Raffaella Da Riz told optician that the company was currently in talks to find a distributor for the brand in the UK. The optical frame collection is characterised by a mixture of strong beta-titanium and aluminium, combined with extra-light plastics, often with a frosted finish in shades such as burgundy, champagne, light green and transparent crystal.
Marion Janotta, head of marketing at Flair, was extremely pleased with the turnout at Opti. Its Pure range of rimless frames, with a unique lens fixing where a nylon thread is used to 'tie' the lenses to the temples, had proved extremely popular, with several new styles added. The spectacles are extremely flexible and have the advantage of being hingeless and screwless.

making progressives
Bamberg-based lens specialist Rupp + Hubrach used the Opti Munich show to launch its Ysis range of highly personalised progressive lenses. Expected on the UK market this spring/summer, the Ysis Ð pronounced 'ee-sis' Ð is R+H's first progressive lens to be developed completely in house and has been some four years in the making.
Available initially in a 1.6 index material, the Ysis takes into account subjective responses from the patient regarding their visual needs.
'We give the patient the near vision where they need it,' explained product marketing manager Anne Hausmann. As well as considering the effect of parameters such as the pupiliary distance and the back vertex distance, the R+H Ysis lens programme also includes judgments of how much the wearer moves their head when they look down, and how much they will use their near and distance zones of the lens.
'What is the patient's lifestyle?' asked Hausmann. 'If they are always driving, then you could say that for 90 per cent of the time they are using the distance zone and for 10 per cent, when they're looking at a map, they are using the near segment.
'If the patient is an elderly lady who is reading a lot, you could say they need the near zone for 90 per cent and the distance segment for just 10 per cent.'
Each patient is then assigned a five-sided shape representing their personal vision requirements. Each patient is different according to their PD, BVD, near requirement, distance requirement and the amount of vertical head movement.
R+H is even in the process of developing an electronic tool to sit on the wearers spectacles for assessing the amount by which they tend to lower their head when, for example, reading.
A wooden presentation case with the patient's profile polygon recorded on the lid completes the package, along with a uniquely-shaped glass stone, again enforcing the message that every patient is different.
As with R+H's Sports lens programme, the turnaround for manufacture, from submitting an order to delivery to the practice, will be around 10 working days. Ysis has a back surface progression zone and is available from -6.00D to +6.00D with a 0.75-3.50 addition.
Neill Lockett, newly appointed R+H sales manager in the UK, felt that practitioners in the UK would want to learn about the benefits that Ysis could bring to their patients.
Other launches from R+H included its Gallery Colours range of tints, inspired by four world cities: New York, Venice, Palma and Mexico City. They are available in the manufacturer's 1.5, 1.6, 1.67 index lenses and its Airium polycarbonate. There is also now a Transitions' version available in its Sports range of lens for deep-base glazing.
Carl Zeiss presented its LotuTec coating. Named after the lotus leaf's characteristic of allowing liquid to simply roll off, the new coating is resistant to water, dirt and oil.
A spokesperson for Zeiss said it combined 'hitherto unparalleled properties in one-coating structure'. It is reinforced with nano-particles, which means the lenses are less sensitive to mechanical stress, and its integrated AR coating has a transparency exceeding 99 per cent, with a 'discreet, aquamarine residual reflection'.
Zeiss explained that LotuTec had been subjected to extreme tests, including a salt-water boiling test (pictured). Lotutec is available as standard on all Clarlet 1.67 products, but will be available for all Clarlet 1.6 products in the spring.
A new high-index plastic lens, Clarlet 1.74 AS, will be available in the UK in single vision from March, promising to reduce lens thicknesses for medium to severe myopes by as much as 40 per cent. It has an Abbe number of 33 and a density of 1.47g/cm3.
A spokesman for Carl Zeiss told optician that the material could be processed without difficulty using standard lab machines. It comes in a power range from -3.00 to -10.00D, for cyls up to 2.00D.
Finally, the Gradal Brevis, launched in December, was also on show, allowing practitioners a less expensive alternative to the individualised Gradal Short progressive lens.
Gradal Brevis has been designed for smaller frame sizes and has an index of 1.5. The aspheric surface has horizontal symmetry, featuring a 'very wide' near zone for comfortable reading.

Pepper offers protection
One interesting, if slightly bizarre, product which caught the attention of many visitors, was on a small stand occupied by a Berlin-based security company, Sidag.
Its burglar alarm goes one step further in deterring an intruder from stealing expensive designer eyewear.
Upon activation, the alarm system announces that if the burglar does not leave immediately, the room will be engulfed in CS gas. If the burglar chooses to ignore the warning and continues further into the premises, a CS gas canister is activated, impeding the burglar until the police arrive.
Managing director Karl-Heinz DrŠger explained that for legal reasons, pepper gas was supplied in the UK instead of CS gas. Visit www.sidag.de for further details.

The eighth Opti Munich show will take place at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from January 28-30, 2005.

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