A-Z of eyewear: GHI

Phillip Oliver Goldsmith started out in 1919 as a commercial salesman for Raphael’s, an optical firm in London. Inspired by the notion that frames could be more than medical devices, Goldsmith set about designing his own frames and launched his first range in 1926 from a mobile showroom. He initially worked with metal but introduced new materials to the eyewear market when he came across a button factory who were using a new raw material, coloured plastic.

After WWII, Goldsmith and his son, Charles, opened a small factory on Poland Street in London. In 1946, Charles designed frames fitted with coloured glass lenses and by the mid-50s sunglasses had a high-profile status. The Goldsmith brand had become synonymous with the booming film and fashion scenes by the ‘60s with Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and John Lennon all wearing Goldsmith frames.