Optician Awards 2015: Frame of the Year

There aren’t many Optician Awards Frame of the Year winners that can lay claim to having adorned the faces of Grace Kelly and Linda Evangelista, but this year’s winner, the Norum from Claire Goldsmith and Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses has done just that.

Designed in 1958 by Oliver Goldsmith, the Norum sunglass sits within the company’s collection of Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses reissues. If things are getting slightly confusing at this point, then it’s worth noting that Oliver Goldsmith and Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses are two separate entities, and the latter is under the stewardship of the Claire Goldsmith Eyewear brand.

To question whether eyewear design is in the DNA of the Goldsmith family would be like asking which branch of the christian faith the Pope subscribes to. Twentieth century icons such as Grace Kelly and Michael Caine wore Oliver Goldsmith’s thick black frames, while the large white sunglasses worn by Audrey Hepburn are a locked-on part of her image.