Acetate from China vs. Italy? Any major differences?
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has noticed any quality differences from the acetate from China versus Italy? I noticed the Ray Ban frames from China seem just as equal to the ones they make in Italy. Not sure if they use Chinese acetate in their Made in China frames though.
Thanks for any input.
Regards,
Jim
Celulose acetate........................
I have done a search for acetate sheets made in Europe aand have not found any evidence that there is still any made there. There are still some textile acetate manufacturers to be found in the west and the rest is all in Asia.
In 1849 Mazzucchelli Spa. opened in north of Italy in Castiglione Olona a town near Varese, Como and Milan. The founder Santino Mazzucchelli and his son Pompeo begin working Cellulose nitrate sheets in the late 1800. The idea was to transform the sheets in to combs, brushes, bottons and hair ornaments. This entrepreneurs were able to establish a company that would influence the development of bioplastic material world wide til today. Mazzucchelli grew to become the largest producer of Celluloid Acetate sheets and Cellulose Nitrate sheets worldwide. Today this warm and aesthetically pleasing material is used mostly for making the frames for eyeglasses, followed by hair ornaments, jewellery, stationary and other accessories. The history of Mazzucchelli 1849 Spa. is fascinating being one of the few family company that lasted for 6 generations. The family is still involved in the business and it continues to influence the bioplastic manufactring development in Europe, USA and Asia. Through the year many tests were done and many patterns were created with acetate sheets the most famous is the Tortoise shell look made exclusively by Mazzucchelli.
Aceteate sheets, to perform properly in the frame manufacturing I learned a long time ago, need quite some time to cure in storage and are not ready right away for processing after manufacturing.
acetate sheets had to be stored..............................
I learned a long time ago, when I was still in frames that acetate sheets had to be stored at least 12 to 15 month after they had been made for a proper curing cicle. If the material was too young it would not stand up properly for daily use as in glasses. As far a I know the formula has not changed ..................so if you get crappy frames that would be the reason for not holding up.
How many face shapes are there? .....................................
Quote:
Originally Posted by
newopt75
How interesting! I'm thinking of doing a small run on a frame that has the perfect fit, or as close as humanly possible to a perfect fit.
How would one go about locating a small manufacturer in the States? Thanks
You will have to make many runs of perfect fits if humanly possible......................, there is no standard face on this earth, not only in my opinion, but also as a fact.
How many face shapes are there?
Oval, Long, Square, Heart and Round are the standard face shapes, although there are realistically so many more. Oblong, rectangular, triangular, diamond, and inverted triangle are also some other shapes that are commonly referred to.