1. The company started in 1926 by Oliver Goldsmith. He wanted to take specs which were a medical necessity and inject some flair into them. He got hold of some of this revolutionary new material called plastic in the early 30's and created the worlds first color spec frames. These can be seen in the V&A museum in London.
2. In late 30's Charles Goldsmith took over. At that time there was no such thing as Sunglasses. You just took your old specs to a jeweler and he would insert some colored glasses in them. Charles thought if he created a collection of glasses that started out like to be Sunspecs that might work. He was right. They did. They sold out of a London Dept store in one week - fashion sunglasses had arrived!
3. During the 50's and 60's OG were approached by many of the movie production companies, to make glasses for Hepburn, Caine, Peter Sellers, Grace Kelly, Nancy Sinatra ,Ursula Andress, and many more celebrity’s followed suit including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.
4.OG made one of glasses for many films including;
o The Ipcress File for Michael Caine 1965
o Two for the Road for Audrey Hepburn 1967
o Billion Dollar Brain for Michael Caine 1967
o Funeral in Berlin for Michael Caine 1966
o Charade for Audrey Hepburn 1953
o How to Steal a Million for Audrey Hepburn 1966
o To Catch a Theif for Grace Kelly 1955
o What’s New Pussycat? for Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress 1965
o Casino Royale for Peter Sellers 1967
o There’s a Girl in my Soup for Peter Sellers 1970
5. OG were often asked to make glasses for the catwalks in the 60s and designed for Christian Dior and Givenchy as well as collaborating with Vidal Sassoon ( see Pyramid frame ).
Design Philosophy
All the timeless classic designs have been taken from the OG archives. They are not new designs
1. The designs are not seasonal. We ADD to our classic collection rather than change it.
2. You will never look at Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Caine in the Ipcress File and say "those glasses are so old fashioned". OG designs are firmly embedded in a part of timeless history which means they are total timeless classics. Many can be seen in museums, vintage magazines.
3. All the designs are exact replica of the originals but using top lens technology and other newer technologies that make them the best quality available with today’s technology. The deigns are not a modern "take" on vintage - they are the exact designs but lenses are not heavy glass and the hinges don't rust and the acetate does not get brittle etc.
Oliver Goldsmith Today