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Gold & Wood takes pride in basing its eyewear collections on exclusive and natural materials, with the quality of finished products also reflecting many hours of meticulous handcrafting.

The brand is the commercial face of the Wood Optic Diffusion Company, which was founded in 1995 by Maurice Léonard, and has introduced several innovations related to the fusion of unusual materials like mother of pearl into buffalo horn.

Julian Clarke, sales director for the Gold & Wood brand at Caseco, comments: 'The point of the company is that these guys are genuinely passionate about eyewear - they don't do anything else. It is not like they have a jewellery or timepiece line they put all their effort and creativity into eyewear. If you look at luxury goods, they are using more natural materials and an increase in colour too. These frames reflect this and despite the value of the material and expertise of craftsmanship the frames also sell on the beauty and the feel and the comfort and the luxury.'

The brand is widespread in the UK, particularly in affluent areas like London and Cheshire, and can be found in areas of overt consumption throughout the world. Clarke notes the increasing importance of China, a country that is now buying more luxury goods than Japan.

'Every year at Silmo and Mido we are approached by people from Shanghai, Dubai, Monaco, Rio - anywhere there are high-flying people. It has grown strongly over the past five or 10 years and really has become a global brand.'

With over 200 models of frames in its optical collection alone, the brand offers so many points of customisation that there are 20,000 permutations possible. The prospect of an individualised pair of frames is attractive to Gold & Wood's typical buyer, who Clarke describes as 'wealthy and around 40 years old'.

Certainly some of the price points are only suitable for the super-rich: a three-piece, rimless frame made out of solid platinum, inset with diamonds is priced above the £10,000 mark.

'Some people will simply walk into a high-end outlet and ask for the most expensive pair of frames. The other end of the scale is around £300, but the standard of craftsmanship is maintained,' adds Clarke.

The construction process involves the production of a wood lamination of seven or eight wafers joined together. A machine then puts a curve on the edges and a computer-controlled cutting tool cuts out the pairs of temples. Then craftsmen begin working with the wood.

For the buffalo horn (which is sustainably harvested from ranch animals) products it takes a staggering three days' work by hand to get a pair of temples.

'A recent innovation in the manufacturing process has allowed for adjustable temples on wooden frames by way of a hinged end tip,' explains Clarke. 'It utilises a patent-pending mechanism that is essentially a wire joined to the two cylinders, one inside the other, that allows seven degrees of manipulation in the same way you would with a regular end tip. In terms of price point this only adds £30-£40 and has been finished to the same high standard, with the added benefit of being hypoallergic because you do not have any metal.'

Clarke says many practices have been surprised by the volumes of Gold & Wood products sold and emphasises that the brand is happy to offer its expertise in presenting the items.

'We are happy to help optical practices get the best out of our frames as there are approaches that work well and some that do not. The important thing is that they are confident they have the market for it.

'Just showing products of this quality can encourage people to re-evaluate ideas of what is an acceptable amount to pay for eyewear and benefit practices.'

Gold & Wood is expecting to maintain growth through the current economic slowdown, postulating that its customers are relatively cushioned against vagaries in the price of living.

'The purchase of an item like this is usually based on emotion and a connection with the product. The area of society that is in a position to make a purchase decision on such factors is likely to make money even in times of duress,' Clarke concludes.

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