Rimless Eyeglass Frames

Rimless eyeglass frames have become quite popular in the past few years with good reason.They're lightweight, unobtrusive, and stylish. Who wouldn't want a pair? The actual frame is not one piece—you get the temples and the bridge. What holds them all together is the set of lenses you have put in. These aren't like semi-rimless styles that have a clear wire across the bottom that fits into the grooves along the bottoms of the lenses. If you've had those and you hated them because the lenses dropped out, you may want to give rimless a try anyway.

If you've ever tried on a pair of rimless eyeglass frames or you know someone who wears them, you probably are familiar with just how lightweight they are. That goes for people with strong prescriptions, too, because you can still use high-index lenses with rimless styles. That reduces the bulk caused by other lenses and again takes a bit more weight off of the bridge of your nose and your ears.

Not thrilled about the prospect of wearing glasses but hate the thought of inserting contact lenses every morning and removing them every night? Rimless styles—especially those with anti-reflective coating—are the least noticeable of all eyeglasses. In fact, some people may have to meet you a few times before it even dawns on them that you wear glasses. Find a matte metal that works so well with your skin tone it's almost undetectable from a distance.

You can easily mix and match lens shapes and the temple/bridge color. With semi-rimless glasses, for example, there is a set lens shape that you have to go with for a particular frame to work. Depending on the store you go to, you may find that you can take a rimless eyeglass frame model with rectangular lenses and modify them with oval-shaped lenses because they are more flattering to your face. So the perfect burnished copper frames don't have to pass you by simply because the lens size shown isn't ideal for your features. Granted, it will take a bit of imagination to be sure they'll work, but if there's a similarly shaped pair (in the wrong color) on the rack to what you're hoping for, you can try those on to be absolutely sure the shape works for you.

If you like the idea of lightweight frames but you like for your glasses to stand out, you still have options. You can choose brighter, colored metals or even just opt for a shinier metal as opposed to the matte ones available. Choose a fun light tint for your lenses if you like. You can still make them unique.

For some people, rimless eyeglass frames just look a little "off" with their features. Instead, they do better with full-on, fun, funky frames that aren't shy at all about making their presence known. For a better looking alternative, they sometimes can get by with semi-rimless frames; those are the frames that have the metal or plastic along the top close to the brow and across the bridge, but nothing on the bottom.

If you don't get a well-made pair of rimless frames, you can be in for a shaky disappointment. The mounting where the metal meets the lenses could cause the hole to widen over time, leaving you with wiggling lenses that make it hard to focus. To prevent this, avoid regular plastic lenses which are far more susceptible to this and go for polycarbonate or high-index lenses instead.

There is also the time issue. Many labs cannot churn out rimless models as quickly as they can regular frames simply because the production of rimless styles is much more detailed and time-consuming. If you're in a hurry, you may not be able to utilize the one-hour labs for your rimless glasses. Instead, it could take a few days or even up to ten days to get your glasses back. If you are using a lab that can do certain styles within an hour and you need your new prescription pronto, ask if they have a special for a second pair. You could get your "back-up" pair in an hour and wear those while you're waiting on the rimless frames you want to wear every day.

The final con is the price. Because of the detail that goes into this style, you may be looking at $500.00 for a pair of glasses. Not all styles will be this much as it depends on where you shop and the brands and materials you choose, but be prepared to pay more for your rimless eyeglasses than you would for an average metal or plastic frame with plastic lenses.

Rimless frames come with pros and cons just like most other styles, but if you're in the market for something almost undetectable and lightweight, try a pair on the next time you're shopping around for eyeglasses.

• Circle Contact Lenses
• Halloween Contact Lenses
• Special FX Theatrical Contact Lenses

• Chanel Sunglasses
• Replica Oakley Sunglasses
• Ray-Ban Sunglasses
• Men's Sunglasses
• Aviator Sunglasses

• Choose Eyeglass Frame
• Magnetic Clip On Sunglasses
• Rimless Sunglasses
• Gradient Aviator Sunglasses with Silver Frames
• Eyeglass Parts