Created and designed by Jay Owens and Marya Francis, the husband and wife force behind the world’s largest historic eyewear company. RetroSpecs’ Cuthbert & Chen eyewear features individually registered hand polished buffalo horn frames and modern customizable titanium frames with blonde horn nosepads.
Cuthbert & Chen is about everything the eyewear world has lost over the past 40 years,” says Jay Owens, the founder, CEO and lead historian for RetroSpecs & Co. “Once upon a time eyewear was not just a mass produced accessory with a logo on the temple, but cherished personal objects with the perfect fit and feel. Glasses were the result of a grand competition between frame manufacturers to design stylish frames in multiple sizes from the finest materials in the world. With Cuthbert & Chen, our clients will now be able to wear our unrivaled modern creations, in their personal size, just like our historic collections.”
The brand name Cuthbert & Chen was conceived from deep roots in the Owens & Francis families. “Cuthbert” is Owens’ early English middle name inherited from his antique-loving father’s side of the family and Chen is the maiden name of Francis’ mother, who was born in fashionable Shanghai in the 1930s.
“Having spent more than 20 years archiving and preserving original early modern pieces from the 20th century and often reshaping the frames to appeal to the contemporary market, we are thrilled to finally use our expansive knowledge to design our own signature collection,” comments Marya Francis, the company’s Creative Director.
“Cuthbert & Chen is the perfect representation of both of our leaders, reflecting a reverence for eyewear’s long history of craftsmanship and our clientele’s deep desire for authentic style,” said Adam Cowfer, the company’s Director of Sales.
Stop by Eclectic Eye today to view our selection of frames from this contemporary collection inspired by historical eyewear.
