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SABAE Glasses was made whole process one by one from start to finish.

The process of making celluloid frames for a pair of spectacles involves more than 100 steps. Although today many of the stages in the process can be done by machine, the subtle finishing touches are still done by hand by a skilled craftsman.

The most difficult of all these steps is the process known as “polishing.” This involves smoothing out the surfaces of the frames after machining by removing blemishes and imperfections, and then burnishing the material to a sheen.

It is a job that takes lots of practice to get right—around 10 years, according to a popular saying in the trade. Masunaga uses eight different kinds of tools, and carries out every part of the painstaking process by hand.

It’s impossible to get just the right kind of soft rounded shape with a machine. Balance is really important with a pair of glasses.The frame needs to fit exactly on the face. But it’s something that can’t be measured precisely in figures.

Craftsmen work to ensure a snug fit and fine sheen for the finished product. 

They said

“We wanted to spend as much time as necessary to get the product exactly right. The economics of the project are not so important because our aim was to produce something faithful to the fundamentals of the craft. There is a kind of “analog” beauty that just can’t be achieved digitally. It is something we were only able to create thanks to being based in Sabae—this unique center of eyeglass making in Japan.”

There is no substitute for experience. Even with two pairs of the same design, subtle differences are there when you put the glasses on. Sabae craftsmen are really devoted to our work.

That’s why we’ve been able to keep on making a superior product for so long.

reprinted from the…http://www.nippon.com

tse tse x Jinrokusaku of Echizen is a product collaboration between the eyeglass craftsmen of Sabae and the spirited brand “tse tse.” 

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These wooden styles are painstakingly polished, pared, and attached by hand, one by one, by a master craftsman. They are completely handmade, from start to finish. 
Wood-like acetate & celluloid soft-square optical glasses.