How Warby Parker glasses are made
design
It starts at our headquarters
Every Warby Parker frame is designed in-house, where our team puts together mood boards for inspiration, sketches initial designs, and maps out product details for prototyping.
materials
We use only the good stuff
From custom-designed cellulose acetate sourced from a family-run Italian factory to ultra-lightweight titanium, we use nothing but premium materials for our frames.
Colored organic pigments are mixed with acetone and applied to acetate
Acetate is cut into small chips
Mixed chips are placed into a mold and pressed together
24 hours later, chips have fused into one block
production
Every frame is hand-assembled and polished
After raw material is cut into face fronts using a high-tech CNC machine, it’s tumbled with wood chips and hand-polished with a German wax compound. The frames are then carefully assembled and sent through a series of quality checks.
A CNC machine cuts a general frame shape from raw acetate sheets
Face fronts are polished in tumbling barrels filled with wood chips
Frames are hand-buffed multiple times on a polishing wheel for an extra-glossy finish
Logos are carefully applied by hand
Testing our hinges to make sure they can withstand the occasional pull, push, or nudge
lenses
When you order, a new pair is made just for you
We custom-cut and polish the edges of your lenses, which have been treated with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings. Our frames come standard with impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses that block 100% of UVA and UVB rays.
Prescription lenses are placed into a job tray with coordinating frames
Lenses are precisely milled into their correct shape using a CNC machine
Lenses are carefully mounted into the frame
Glasses are sent for a final review, where the prescription is checked one last time
Good to go!
final review
And off they go
After the frames are individually inspected and bench aligned, they’re packaged up and ready for you!