It's been a long time since someone has posted on this topic so I'm going to hit it from a different angle. Heat extrusion, as I've been led to believe is the most expensive way of producing an eyeglass frame. I am certain that this is how Oakley produces their x-metal frames and I would like to know some other companies that use this method to produce their frames. I think it's a unique selling point over and above country of manufacture and customers awareness of brand names.