THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF A UNIQUE EYEWEAR BRAND
Line Art CHARMANT was born of a clear vision: to provide ultimate wearing comfort to people who depend on glasses. This goal was very ambitious and, as it turned out, not that easy to realise…
So much for the appetiser! From that first germ of an idea to the final launch of the Line Art CHARMANT collection, it took a whole 15 years. Without the passionate dedication and innovative talent of employees who partook in the crafting of Line Art CHARMANT, we certainly would not be able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this special eyewear brand this year. Even after numerous setbacks and failed attempts, the CHARMANT team worked on undeterred and never lost sight of the big vision.
THE MATERIAL : STRIVING TO PROVIDE THE ULTIMATE IN WEARING COMFORT
The secret of the comfort of Line Art CHARMANT lies in the flexibility and superb memory function of the frame material: the way it gently springs back, applying optimal pressure to the wearer’s head puts it in a class of its own.
When we started the Line Art CHARMANT journey, no conventional metal alloy could deliver the properties we needed to reach our goal. The unsuccessful search for such a metal prompted us to work on a completely new titanium alloy. As part of an eight-year joint research and development project with the Institute for Materials at Tohoku University in Japan, we discovered a ground-breaking material: Excellence Titan.
THE CONCEPT : A VISION REALISED BY PASSION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
As we mentioned, unwittingly, the making of Line Art CHARMANT turned into a truly lengthy endeavour that spearheaded many innovative new developments: from the discovery of the new material to a new processing method to the procurement of processing machines with which we could mass-produce the frames.
In addition to the main focus on wearing comfort, we also wanted a novel design direction. Line Art CHARMANT glasses are characterised by a very unique and eye-catching look that features delicate lines and precise, mostly hand-applied colouring on the temple lines and rims.
During the development of Excellence Titan, a new processing technology was researched in a five-year joint development project with the Joining & Welding Research Institute at the University of Osaka in Japan. The result was CHARMANT's very own laser micro-welding technology which optimally processes the cutting-edge material.
EYEWEAR AS JEWELLERY : COLLABORATION WITH WORLD-CLASS CRAFTSMEN
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Line Art CHARMANT, we teamed up with the high-end Japanese jewellery brand HIROUMI to express our brand philosophy "Beauty in Comfort" in the form of beautiful anniversary models set with precious stones.
“The proposal to fuse jewellery with frames was a new challenge for our atelier. We usually work with platinum and gold as raw materials, however, titanium, with its different hardness, toughness and sparkle, was an appealing challenge,” says Mr. Hiroumi.
To accomplish the captivating anniversary jewellery models, Charmant engineers spent a week manually polishing titanium parts that had been hewed from a block using a five-core machine. Then, Mr. Hiroumi painstakingly set precious gems in place, maximising their brilliance. The flowery showpieces were completed thanks to the fine work of skilled craftsmen.
SYNERGY : LINE ART CHARMANT EYEWEAR AND MUSIC
Line Art CHARMANT designs draw their inspiration from classical music, which is why all design lines have names that originate from the world of music.
What kind of music would suitably articulate our vision for Line Art CHARMANT? That’s the question we put to Japanese composer Masahi Hamauzu when commissioning him to compose a piece of music to celebrate Line Art CHARMANT's anniversary. The distinguished artist related how visiting our company headquarters and factory in Sabae fuelled his creativity: “I was impressed at how highly integrated the processes are. All departments closely cooperate to create the frames. I recorded the sounds of the workers and reflected them in the music to express the reality of this dynamic.”
The new piece is entitled “Line Art” and recounts the story of the brand in a musical way. The composition includes the metallic clash of titanium and the sounds of the laser micro welding machines.
Click on this link to enjoy this thrilling Line Art concerto: Line Art Suite
