Swissflex Design
Resources to Design Your Swissflex Frames
If you’ve wanted to design your own eyeglasses, Swissflex is a great brand to work with! There are so many options and variables, over a million different designs are possible — which can quickly feel overwhelming. Our optician Natalie is an expert at guiding you through decisions when you visit for your in-person session, but if you’d like to prepare ahead of time, this is the perfect resource!
1. Swissflex Systems
Swissflex refers to their styles as Systems. Each System is visually distinct.
CLASSIC is the most ubiquitous System Swissflex offers. These are drill-mounted, modular frames with no limits on lens shape or size. There are two temple types, dozens of color options, and these lenses may be ordered with a groove paint.
Contur was introduced several years ago and is nearly identical to Classic in terms of parts and options. The addition is a lightweight material fitted around each lens, available in tons of colors and shapes. If you want just the faintest hint of color we recommend getting the Classic with groove paint, but for a bolder look, Contur is the best bet.
Rainbow has been discontinued. There are still some left, but when they’re gone — they’re gone. Artisan Eyewear has 4 pieces in inventory and has access to whatever styles and colors the US distributor still has. Contact us ASAP if you’d like to order something.
Loop comes in 10 shapes and 9 colors. In addition to Loop, Swissflex has two similar Systems: Loop Kid and Loop Baby. Artisan Eyewear has 3 pieces in inventory [one adult and two kid sizes], but our office is primarily focused on Classic and Contur Systems.
Varius is a combination of traditional thick frame and modular design, offering 5 lens shapes in 12 colors. Artisan Eyewear does not stock any Varius frames at this time.
2. Lens Shapes
Classic
Swissflex provides Artisan Eyewear with a binder of 100+ lens shapes; we can also go off-script because the frame design is so unrestrictive.
If you have a drill-mount frame from another popular brand [i.e. Lindberg, Silhouette, Kawasaki], we can trace your lens and use the pattern in a Swissflex Classic.
Contur
Due to the custom rings, there are defined lens shapes and sizes for the Contur System. Again, Artisan Eyewear has a binder in-shop to review options, but there are perhaps 100+ options for your Swissflex design.
3. Swissflex Colors
Artisan Eyewear has color chip samples in-shop for you to handle and evaluate. Since most are translucent and some have a pearlescent or sparkly quality, they are best viewed in person.
The colors available for Classic and Contur refer to the bridge, temples, and hinges, as well as the pins that hold each segment together. Most are available in a polished or shiny finish, and many are also available in a frosty or matte finish. We love that Swissflex has the color compounded in the material; a painted frame will reveal a different color when chipped or scratched, but not Swissflex.
While many clients opt for a frame uniform in color, you are able to have a frame that is 5 different colors, with additional pops of color using contrasting pins!
For a Contur frame, there are many foil [the name for the pieces of material that surround each lens] color options. Finishes vary: translucent, opaque, shimmery, mirror reflective, glittery… Artisan Eyewear has larger color samples to review in-shop, including intricate patterns that don’t photograph well for viewing online.
When you want a touch of color around your lens, Swissflex Classic can be designed with an edge paint.
Rather than a smooth and polished lens edge, we etch a groove around the lens and fill it with a permanent paint.
The nose pads, which are attached ‘behind’ the bridge, are strictly translucent / clear. Scroll to #4 to see temple tip color options.
4. Temple Styles
Swissflex Classic and Contur share the same temple style options.
The Straight temple is a great option for most people. It is a uniform 140mm long and at the tip is a removable small black cap to improve grip.
Raster temples are available for a more customized fit when the Straight temple is lacking. The temple is meant to be trimmed by a trained optician. This allows us to provide a longer or shorter temple than the Straight.
The Raster has two styles of temple tip available:
Curved for a traditional fit. I will use this configuration when we need a longer temple overall, or a more adjustable temple
Hook for a cable temple style. This is handy for very active people, individuals in professions that work against gravity [electricians, auto mechanics, etc.), and folks who value an extremely secure fit. We’re big fans of using the Hook design on Swissflex sunglasses for active and sporty clients.
5. Swissflex Nose Pads
There are six Swissflex nosepads available. [Technically there is a seventh, called an Adapter, but we’ve yet to find a client who needs this]
During your fitting we will have you try on six frames, each fitted with a different nose pad, to check for the best fit.
Other Considerations
The Swissflex Bridge is only available in 2 widths: 29mm [17 DBL] and 26mm [15 DBL]. While Swissflex frames fit many, many faces, the limitation of bridge width does exclude this brand from very wide bridges, and very narrow PD’s.
We hope that you can appreciate how important in-person Swissflex design and fitting really is. The complexity, vastness of options, and need for a skilled optician are all reasons Swissflex isn’t sold online.
Swissflex Gallery
Video of Artisan Eyewear’s Swissflex Inventory
