Designed and developed by Bosch & Lomb, aviators were originally designed for U.S Air Corp pilots during World War II. But, it is said that an aviator named John Macready who beat the altitude record of flying above 33,000 feet in 1920 had actually conceived the idea and worked on it with Bosch & Lomb. This helped in developing aviator sunglasses. The legend has it that his friend Schroeder who had set up an earlier record of high altitude flying was on one of his flights when his goggles fogged and he had to take them off in mid flight. As a consequence of that, his eyes froze and he had a hazy vision. He somehow managed to land his bi-plane and John Macready helped him out of the cockpit.
John was moved by this incident and it prompted him to work with Bosch & Lomb to develop tinted sunglasses that would not only protect the aviator’s eyes from lethal high velocity winds but would also shield his eyes from the glare, thus aviators were born. Initially the early aviator sunglasses were closed and used to look like standard flying goggles, but later on, these were modified to allow in some sunshine. That is because at higher altitudes, skin of pilots becomes tanned while the area protected by goggles remains fairer than the rest of the skin. For a uniform tan, Bosch & Lomb developed these sunglasses for aviators. It was only in late 1920’s that advertisements for Bausch & Lomb’s Ray-Ban began to appear in the news papers and by 1930 Ray-Ban aviators already had become a standard gear for aviators. Admired by aviators all over the world, these sunglasses are still in use in the military establishments.
RayBan owes its popularity to Douglas MacArthur, an American commander who can be considered to be the first brand ambassador of RayBan. He was photographed during the WWII in his aviator sunglasses and soon the trend picked up in all the social circuits in U.S. In 1937, the aviators were on a mass production and were easily available all over U.S and since then they have never been out of production. It has been more than eight decades now and aviator sunglasses have remained most fashion forward product of the twentieth century and are still used by one and all. Aviators were adopted by various pop artists and celebrities right from the early 1960’s, they have been popular throughout 1990’s and made a comeback in 2000s. Everyone from Elvis to M.J, from J. Lopez to Lilo has worn aviators.
The standard aviator sunglasses are characterized by their convex lens which come in dark shades and thin metal wire frames with sleek temple arms that hook just behind the ears and of course the iconic double or triple bridge. Although nowadays you can get a pair of aviator sunglasses from almost all the companies but the aviators from Ray-Ban are considered to be classic and original. Most of the other brands have based their products on the classic Ray-Ban aviators. There are many types of aviators on the market and some of them are:
Polarized Aviators
Polarized aviator sunglasses are designed to filter out the components of horizontal light that cause glare and allows only the vertical components of light.
Mirrored Aviators
Mirrored aviators come with reflective coating. More often than not they come with gradient and look great.
Green and G15 Aviators
RayBan was originally supposed to be a colour and not a brand, developed by Bausch & Lomb the colour green is known to have the greatest absorption curve with a minimal colour distortion and was originally meant to protect eyes from the harmful glare of the direct sunlight.
Although, the shape of sunglasses should ideally contradict the shape of your face, aviators just look great on every type of face. Most of the aviators will suit an oval face. For example, Ray-Ban RB3025 aviator sunglasses are perfect for a long face while Ray-Ban RB3386 107/8G would better suit oval shaped faces. Let us discuss these two models and see what suits you the best.
Ray-Ban RB3025 0015 SIZE:55 Golden Green 0015 Men Metal Sunglasses
These aviators from Ray-Ban come with iconic G 15 green coloured lenses that were developed by Bosch and Lomb to minimise colour distortion and emphasise the green and yellow wavelengths that our eyes are more sensitive to. G 15 is a completely neutral colour and transmits colours in the same way that our eyes perceive colours and that is why it is easy on the eyes. This colour absorbs 85% of visible light and lets only 15% of the visible light through providing a 100% ultraviolet (UV) protection. The best thing about these glasses is that the tint of these sunglasses does not fade. These aviators come with a sleek metal wire frame which features a gold tone and is light and comfortable to wear.
Ray-Ban RB3386 107/8G Gunmetal Blue Rubber – Gradient Grey Size:67 Sunglasses
These aviator sunglasses from the house of Ray-Ban come with an alloy gunmetal frame and feature grey gradient lenses which offer a least amount of colour distortion. While gradient allows a peripheral vision below the direct line of sight making them ideal for driving conditions where in addition to protection from the glare, a wearer should have an unobstructed view of the dashboard and instrument panels. These sunglasses are UV 400 protected and are strongly recommended by the experts. These aviators are suitable for oval faces and can be worn during clear weather conditions.
Timeless, imaginative and classic, Ray-Ban remains true to its heritage, while evolving to meet the contemporary fashion trends.
