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PREMIUM OEM · ITALIAN ACETATE

Acetate Optical Frames
for Brands That Care About Material

Premium Italian, bio-based recycled, and high-grade acetate. Three-stage hand polishing. CE certified (EN ISO 12870), with FDA / ANSI testing on request. Built for fashion brands, designer capsules, and DTC labels — from 300 pieces per style.

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Green tortoise acetate optical frame beside a stack of multicolor acetate sheets in natural light

Program Overview

At a Glance

Material Premium Italian and high-grade acetate · Bio-based & recycled acetate · Chinese High-Grade Acetate
Manufacturing CNC plate cutting · 3-stage hand polishing · 48–72h tumble · dimensional QC
MOQ 300 pcs/style (base) · scales with color count and lamination complexity
Lead Time 14–21 days for samples · 35–45 days for bulk production from approved sample
Compliance CE certified (EN ISO 12870). Third-party testing for FDA, ANSI Z80.5, REACH, and EN 1811 available on request.
Customization Pad/Screen/Heat Transfer Print · Laser Etch · Metal Logo Plaque · Custom Lamination · Color Block · Bridge fit adjustment per market

Material Selection

Three Acetate Tiers — Choose by Brand Positioning

We work with three acetate grades. Pick by your customer's willingness to pay for material story.

Premium Italian acetate plate with tortoise lamination
Italian Premium

Premium Italian Acetate

  • → Rich color depth with UV-stable saturation past Mediterranean summers
  • → Italian mill sourcing, including Mazzucchelli grades, on request
  • → Ideal for heritage capsules and premium optical positioning
  • → Proof-of-origin documentation available for capsule programs

Best for: Heritage capsule · Luxury DTC · Designer collaboration

Bio-based and recycled acetate plates with raw material pellets
Bio-Sustainable

Bio-Based & Recycled Acetate

  • → Bio-based and recycled acetate options with reduced plastic content
  • → Recycled packaging options
  • → Pantone-bridge color matching support
  • → Material traceability documentation on request

Best for: Eco brand · Carbon-neutral capsule · EU sustainable market

High-grade acetate frame blanks in a wide range of colors, arranged in production rows
Standard+

Chinese High-Grade Acetate

  • → Our primary supply, cost-efficient for color-block lamination
  • → CE documented per shipment
  • → 14-day stock availability
  • → Color batch consistency across re-orders

Best for: Volume DTC · Optical chain restock · Value capsule

Available Silhouettes

Shape Catalog — 8 Core Silhouettes

All shapes available in any of the three acetate tiers. Custom shapes from 300 pcs per style, per color — the acetate is CNC-cut, so new shapes need no mold. Hover any style on desktop to see another angle or colorway.

Tortoise cat-eye acetate optical frame, front view
Cat-Eye Revival
Rising · Trending in 2026
Brown two-tone browline acetate optical frame, front view
Browline · Clubmaster
Trending in 2026
Light crystal round vintage acetate optical frame, front view
Round · Heritage
Stable Classic
Dark green oversized square acetate optical frame, front view
Oversized Square
Stable
Red patterned hexagonal geometric acetate optical frame, front view
Hexagonal · Geometric
Stable Geometric
Tortoise acetate aviator-style optical frame, front view
Aviator-Acetate
Long-running
Navy blue rectangular acetate optical frame, front view
Rectangular Classic
Long-running
Multicolor patterned acetate browline optical frame, front view
Half-Frame · Browline-Rim
Niche

Platform Advantage

One Acetate Front. Two Product Lines.

Most brands treat optical frames and sunglasses as two separate development projects — two designs, two sampling rounds, two timelines. We run them as one platform.

Every classic silhouette in our catalog (base 2–4 curvature) is engineered to run as both an optical SKU with demo or Rx-ready lenses, and a sunglasses SKU with polarized or tinted UV400 lenses — same CNC-cut acetate front, same cutting program, same three-stage hand polishing.

What changes: the lens package, the hinge tension tuning for heavier sun lenses, and the compliance file (EN ISO 12870 for optical; EN ISO 12312-1 with UV category and polarization axis reports for sun).

What stays: your frame design, your color lamination batches, and your brand's DNA across both lines.

High-wrap sport silhouettes (base 6–8) are built separately from the shared-front platform — we flag this at the tech-pack stage, so there are no surprises later.

One acetate front, two lens packages: launch your optical line first, then extend into sunglasses from the same design — no new frame development, no second sampling round.

Production Method

Three-Stage Hand Polishing

Why we hand-polish what other factories machine-finish.

01
CNC milling machine cutting an acetate frame blank with swarf, at VISTALUMO factory

CNC Rough Cutting

Plate cutting from solid Italian or high-grade Chinese acetate sheets. 0.4mm dimensional tolerance from spec. No mold shrinkage variation.

02
Row of wooden tumble polishing drums for acetate frame finishing at VISTALUMO factory

Tumble Polishing (48–72h)

Frame bodies tumble in ceramic chips for 48–72 hours depending on color depth and acetate hardness. Removes machining marks, opens surface for hand work.

03
Worker in white gloves hand-polishing a tortoise acetate frame on a buffing wheel

Hand Bath Polishing

Acetylene flame bath + three rounds of hand smoothing on temple grooves, hinge edges, and inner bridge. This is what separates acetate that feels Italian from acetate that feels injection-molded.

04
Gloved hands checking an acetate optical frame against a dimensional spec drawing during quality control

Dimensional QC & Batch Sign-off

Every frame is checked against its spec drawing at multiple measurement points, verifying frame width, bridge, and temple length before batch release. Batch sign-off documentation included with shipment.

In-House Capabilities

Customization Capabilities

What we can do, in-house, without subcontracting.

Logo & Branding

✓ Pad Printing (multi-color)
✓ Screen Printing
✓ Laser Etched Frame Logo
✓ Laser Etched Lens Logo
✓ Metal Logo Plaque (Inlay)
✓ Heat Transfer Printing

Material & Shape

✓ Custom Acetate Lamination (2–4 color layers)
✓ Custom Acetate Color Block (panel composition)
✓ Custom Hinge Color
✓ Custom Temple Tip Color
✓ Bridge fit adjustment to market specification
✓ Custom Shapes (CNC-cut, from 300 pcs)

DTC Killer Feature

Bridge Fit Adapted to Your Market

Bridge fit is one of the most common — and most preventable — reasons eyewear gets returned. A frame designed around one skull shape will sit differently on another, no matter how good your photography or sizing chart is.

Our frames are built to a standard fit by default. When your market calls for a different fit — a lower bridge and adjusted nose pad area for Asian markets, for example — we modify the bridge geometry to your specification during sampling, so the fit is dialed in before production begins.

Result: the same design, adapted to the market you actually sell to — settled at the sample stage, not discovered in your return data.

Send us your target market's bridge measurements with your tech pack — fit adjustments are confirmed at sampling, before you commit to production.

Acetate optical frame held in an automated precision jig for bridge and frame-front machining

Compliance

What We Hold, What We Can Test

We're direct about the difference between certification we already hold and testing we can arrange for your order.

Certified — Held In-House

CE Marking (EN ISO 12870)

Our acetate optical frames carry CE marking under the EU optical frame standard. Documentation issued in your brand's name as importer, shipped with every order.

Third-Party Testing — Available on Request

For markets requiring compliance beyond CE, we arrange testing through accredited third-party laboratories, with reports issued in your brand's name:

  • → FDA Class I device listing (US OTC pathway)
  • → ANSI Z80.5 (US optical frame standard)
  • → REACH (EU chemical compliance)
  • → Nickel Release EN 1811 (EU, metal components)

Testing cost and lead time are quoted per project. We recommend confirming target-market requirements before production so testing can run in parallel.

Confirm specific requirements with your compliance advisor or customs broker. We provide test documentation to support your filing; we do not act as a regulatory consultant.

Proven Patterns

Project Types We Run

We've shipped these patterns. Tell us which one looks like yours.

Capsule Collection

Volume 150–300 pcs per color
Material Multi-color custom acetate lamination, color-locked batches
Timeline Sample 7–12 days · production 25–35 days · reorder 20–25 days
Strength Fast sampling built around your launch date · flexible entry via stock frame customization

Heritage Brand Revival

Volume 300–500 pcs per style
Material Deep tortoise + crystal classic palette
Timeline Sample 15–20 days (2–3 rounds) · production 45–60 days
Strength Vintage-faithful color matching + period-correct shapes · design exclusivity available

Designer Collaboration

Volume 500–1,500 pcs, single drop
Material Premium Italian acetate with custom lamination
Timeline Sample 12–15 days · production ~40 days
Strength NDA-protected designs + designer credit on hangtag · brand-story photography supplied

Sustainable Eco Line

Volume 300–800 pcs across 2 colors
Material Bio-based recycled acetate + recycled packaging options
Timeline Stock color 10–15 days / custom color 20–30 days sample · production 35–45 days
Strength Bio-based recycled material + recycled packaging as a full eco package · traceability for EU green claims

DTC Multi-SKU Launch

Volume 300 pcs/SKU (1,500–3,000 pcs across a multi-SKU launch)
Material Standard tier acetate · studio photography included
Timeline First sample set 12–18 days (parallel SKUs) · production 35–45 days · reorder 15–20 days
Strength 15–20 day reorders keep bestsellers in stock · bridge fit adjusted to your market at sampling

Optical Chain Restock

Volume 500–1,000 pcs per style, recurring
Material Locked color batches across re-orders
Timeline Approval sample 7–10 days · production 30–40 days · reorder 20–30 days, on schedule
Strength Monthly capacity 20,000 pcs · golden sample retained for every batch

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the minimum order for an acetate frame project? +
300 pieces per style is our starting MOQ for custom acetate optical frames. For a multi-color capsule, that means 150–300 pieces per color. Sample development takes 7–20 days depending on complexity; production runs 25–45 days from approved sample.
What compliance documentation do you provide? +
We hold CE marking (EN ISO 12870) for our acetate optical frames, with documentation issued in your brand's name as importer. For other markets — FDA, ANSI Z80.5, REACH, EN 1811 — we arrange third-party testing on request, with reports in your brand's name. Testing cost and lead time are quoted per project.
Do you work with Italian Mazzucchelli acetate? +
We source verified Italian acetate including Mazzucchelli grades for premium projects. Proof-of-origin documentation can be provided for capsule programs on request.
Can you adjust the bridge fit for Asian markets? +
Yes. Our frames are built to a standard fit by default; when your market needs a different fit, send us your bridge measurements with the tech pack and we adjust the geometry at the sampling stage — so fit is confirmed before production.
Can the same frame be ordered as both optical and sunglasses? +
Yes — for classic silhouettes (base 2–4 curvature), the same CNC-cut acetate front runs as an optical SKU (demo or Rx-ready lenses, EN ISO 12870) and a sunglasses SKU (polarized or tinted UV400 lenses, EN ISO 12312-1 with test reports). Only the lens package and compliance file change — the acetate front is the same. High-wrap sport shapes are a separate build, which we flag at the tech-pack stage.
Do you provide product photography? +
Yes — studio photography is available for DTC and brand launch projects, including white-background, lifestyle, and color-true detail shots.
Do custom acetate frames require mold tooling? +
For the acetate itself, no. We CNC-cut frames directly from acetate sheet, so a new shape only needs a new cutting program — no mold, no tooling fee, and a starting order of 300 pieces per style, per color. Mold tooling only applies to custom metal parts. For the wire core (the metal pin inside the temple), standard cores are stocked; a custom-engraved core, a logo on the core, or a specific curvature requires a dedicated stamping die. For metal trim, hinges, or rivets, custom end pieces, signature rivets, or an exclusive hinge design are stamped or cast from dedicated tooling. Any metal tooling is a one-time cost, quoted per part based on design and complexity, and confirmed upfront before you commit.

Ready to Start?

Start Your Acetate Project

Send us your reference sketches, materials spec, or just the rough idea. We'll come back within one business day with material recommendations, MOQ tiers, and a realistic timeline.

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