The Danish luxury eyewear brand Lindberg made history with its lightweight, customisable mechanic-free and titanium-speciality optical frames. Respected and revered worldwide as a pioneer in the high-end luxury eyewear market, the brand holds a unique position in the industry with its innovative manufacturing techniques and design-oriented frames.
This article will run through Lindberg’s history and its unique craftsmanship, closing off with a few big-name celebrities that have been seen wearing top Lindberg glasses.
The Brand History
It all started with optician Poul-Jørn Lindberg, dating back to 1969 in Denmark. He and his wife were running an optical store in a city called Århus. Unsatisfied and frustrated by traditional eyewear designs of heavy frames involving screws, Poul-Jørn decided that he wanted to create lightweight frames. He teamed up with architect Hans Dissing in 1984 to create the Lindberg Optic Design house. The duo invented a revolutionary new product that changed the optical frame industry completely: the Air Titanium eyewear, which remains a cornerstone for the brand to this day.
This design didn’t involve any screws, reinvest or welded components, and was made with durable and flexible titanium, which was only extensively used in the space industry at the time. Lindberg was one of the pioneers of using titanium for eyewear. Henrik Lindberg, son of Poul-Jørn and current CEO, stated that they “came in contact with titanium which was at the time just released for commercial use. It suddenly lifted the project from being an eyewear design product to something completely new for the eyewear business."
The AIR Titanium frames were launched to the public two years later in 1986, after years of designing and manufacturing. Lindberg had chosen to go direct to the optometrist instead of going through a distributor route — this is a model that they use to this day. Now, the company has over 5,000 partners in over 135 countries, not to mention the 112 prestigious design awards over the years.
Today, every Lindberg frame is designed and made in Denmark, with its sleek Scandinavian design and zero mechanics, made of only the highest quality of materials including responsibly-sourced titanium, acetate, platinum, gold, diamonds and animal horn. “Every frame is a statement about aesthetics, technical innovation and impeccable craftsmanship,” according to the brand.
Acquisition by Kering
The global luxury group Kering —which manages the development of various renowned houses in fashion, leather goods, jewellery and watches including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bodega Veneta, Balenciaga and Kering Eyewear — acquired a 100% stake in Lindberg in July 2021.
This acquisition is significant for the expansion strategy of Kering Eyewear, one of the world’s leading international luxury eyewear companies that designs, develops and distributes eyewear for various luxury brands. Its strategy involves reinforcing its brand as a key player in the luxury eyewear market.
Current CEO of LINDBERG Henrik Lindberg stated, “35 years ago we started our company in two small back rooms behind our family optical store. With nothing more than the idea of bringing unseen comfort and quality to the eyewear business. Thanks to a team of dedicated employees, we can now —in Roberto Vedovotto’s own words— call ourselves makers of “absolute luxury eyewear”. Kering and LINDBERG share a common philosophy that design is ultimately about taking eyewear to an even higher level. That is why the Lindberg family are extremely happy to be able to pass the torch on to Kering Eyewear. Under Roberto Vedovotto’s leadership and backed by the impressive values and high standards of the Kering Group, I am convinced that the LINDBERG brand will be taken to new heights and the key values and the unique DNA kept.”
Craftsmanship
Lindberg revolutionised optical frame designs. The company has developed and patented its own manufacturing techniques and innovations, which is one of the factors that put Lindberg at the top spot in the industry. This includes the development of multi-adjustable, hypoallergenic and screwless frames. Some would say that Lindberg is more of a design firm that happens to specialise in optical frames than it is an eyewear brand.
All elements of design, engineering, manufacturing, production and distribution happen in one place, in-house — in Denmark. It’s a rarity to have all the processes unfolding under one roof in the eyewear business, but the company has concerns about trade intelligence getting out — there is a slight air of secrecy when it comes to the ins and outs of the production process, and that’s fair enough.
Three elements make up the excellent craftsmanship of Lindberg: screwless, lightness, customisation and high-quality materials.
The revolutionary invention: AIR Titanium
The innovation by Lindberg that changed the eyewear industry is the AIR Titanium range, a design created together with Copenhagen-based architects Dissing + Weitling. This is a rimless eyewear design made of titanium, and it was the first in the world to do so. AIR Titanium introduced a unique modular building system and pioneering work with titanium to the industry.
Traditional and trendy glasses were heavy, uncomfortable to wear, one-size-fits-all and often came with screws and welded parts. The AIR Titanium range is the opposite of that: it is extremely light — a pair of glasses can weigh as little as 2.7g — and it involves no screws.
Lindberg utilises the strengths of the titanium material: it has excellent corrosion resistance, is extremely durable (it is three times stronger than steel while being 40 per cent lighter), has hypoallergenic properties and is flexible.
Screwless frames
The brand was the first ever brand to patent a screw-free frame, which is still Lindberg’s signature design today. Instead of screws, the brand invented the groundbreaking iconic patented spiral hinge. There is no need for screws, rivets or other elements — the hinge is the only thing you need. Henrik Lindberg himself said, “Screw is a really, really dirty word around here.”
High-quality materials
Lindberg prides itself on responsibly-sourced materials, on top of the titanium. While the brand uses titanium in various aspects of the eyewear design to ensure the lightness factor as well as the minimalist factor, Lindberg would also combine the use of titanium with other responsibly-sourced materials like acetate, wood or buffalo horn. One can even inset diamonds in the temple. The brand even won the Wallpaper Design Award for its use of buffalo horn in 2015.
The Træ + Buffalo collection offers olive, padauk and smoked oak, with a special-edition collection offering a front crafted from a 6,000-year-old piece of bog oak found on the Danish island of Møn.
Customisable designs
One of the ways Lindberg built their reputation is through the personalisation of glasses, called the LINDBERG building system, where customers can create their very own bespoke pair of Lindberg glasses through the brand’s extended modular system that rolled out in 2018. This allows customers to personalise every element of their eyewear, from colour, size and temple length to nose pads. This creates the sense that every piece of eyewear is uniquely their own.
Lindberg’s use of technology provides a new level of personalisation rather than just applying a coating onto the frame — there is an exclusive method of colouring the material using oxidation with water and electricity. This method naturally changes the colour of the titanium eyewear to any colour in the spectrum of the rainbow.
With 13 different collections, 20 models in each and endless colourways, finishes and frame sizes to choose from, on top of the type, colour and length of the temples, and the size of nose pads, it’s difficult to get two exactly identical pairs of Lindberg glasses. Henrik said that “if you want to calculate all the possible outcomes of how many different styles exist in the Lindberg universe, the number is rather absurd, like six million or something.”
Top Lindberg Designs
Lindberg currently has 13 different collections, each with their own innovative techniques, designs and materials. The original Danish design, the AIR Titanium, is definitely a classic choice for regular customers, but the other collections showcase new innovations and technology that the brand has invested in and succeeded in.
Air Titanium Rim
Air Titanium Rim is Lindberg’s most popular collection. It follows the original AIR Titanium design, retaining the revolutionary spiral hinge, but with a thin wire rim around the lens. The minimalistic and sleek design that Linberg is known for remains in this collection. There are no excessive decorations or logos — just the iconic hinge that removes the need for screws or hinges.
The collection offers various frame shapes, including round, square and oval shapes, to suit every face. One can choose to add acetate inner rims for a stronger appearance while still retaining the benefits of wireframe eyewear.
With Lindberg’s customisation options, customers can be their own designer and choose their own parts including finishing and colour, as well as adjusting temples and nose pads to fit their faces perfectly. Each pair of glasses has its own unique product number and customer’s name engraved.
Buffalo Titanium
One of the bestselling collection is Lindberg’s Buffalo Titanium, one-of-a-kind in the market today. The designs in this range are made of a combination of buffalo horn and the brand’s signature titanium. The frame is made out of laminated buffalo horn while the temple is made out of titanium. To make a single pair of Buffalo Titanium glasses, it takes at least 152 in-house processes using the best skilled craftsmen and high technology equipment.
The use of buffalo horn for this collection is unique — it offers a visual statement while still being true to Lindberg’s properties of lightweight and custom fit. As horn is a natural material, patterns and colours can vary — this adds to the exclusivity and unique features of every frame. With a myriad of colours and styles to choose from, there are countless combinations one can get in just this collection alone.
NOW Titanium
A newer collection is the NOW Titanium, which is more popular with the younger crowd. This is because of its younger and trendier designs in the collection, as well as its customisation options. As with all of Lindberg’s frames, there are no screws for any of the designs in this collection.
The NOW Titanium collection has a frame that’s 2mm thin and comes in 41 different shapes and 26 different colours, with shapes ranging from trendy cat eyes and angular shapes to traditional round and aviator ones. The finishing ranges from matte to shiny, solid to transparent. On top of that, there are four various styles for nose pads as well.
There are also four temple designs to choose from — the basic wire temple and 802 temple (a flat style) are the two most popular ones. All temple styles are made of 100% high-quality titanium with nano coating to prevent scratches. For the temple alone, there are 39 colours to choose from.
With all the options for customisation, there’s a total of 166,296 combinations from just this collection alone. Similar to other collections, customers can engrave their names on the temple as well (if it’s wide enough for it).
Strip Titanium
As the name suggests, the Strip Titanium collection consists of designs using titanium strips. These individual elements are laser-cut from thin plates of Lindberg’s signature premium titanium, which are ultra-lightweight, hypoallergenic and extremely durable.
This collection has unique frame designs of creative shapes and sizes, taking inspiration from decades of fashion while still retaining the brand’s philosophy of modern functionalism. The inner rims are made of acetate to provide an unusual sense of depth and dimension. Similarly, the groove is also coloured for that added dimension.
In this collection, one of the frames include models with acetate upper bars that are often associated with the 50’s eyewear fashion.
There is also the half-rimmed floating design with the distinct titanium upper bar. It is one frame in the collection that features a semi-rim design.
The Strip Titanium collection is a great choice for those looking to be a little more stylish and playful without compromising the comfort and lightweight properties that Lindberg glasses offer.
Sun Titanium
Lindberg’s sunglasses collection, the Sun Titanium, consists of an ultra-thin acetate rim that connects with a titanium frame. There are various combinations of contemporary designs, much like the other collections Lindberg has. Sun Titanium uses the brand’s signature material, titanium, which is hypoallergenic, durable and flexible.
There are 15 frame shapes to choose from in the Sun Titanium collection — a combination of design classes and bold fashion pieces, from round and square to small and oversized. The lenses are top quality — frames are fitted with premium sun lenses that guarantee optimal vision and exceptional glare protection. The lenses used are coated with an anti-reflective coating that also offers UV protection. Even with the lenses, there are more than 11 lens colours available for customisation.
Lindberg’s customisation service also extends to its sunglasses range — customers have various customisation options including adjusting the length of the temple and opting for multi-adjustable ergonomic nose pads made from medical silicone.
Precious
The brand pushes its own boundaries with the limited-edition Precious collection. This range boasts an astounding range of prestigious eyewear made from solid 18 Karat gold — yellow, white, rose and black gold — as well as platinum and buffalo horn. Designs can be set with high-quality, uncut unique diamonds that are handpicked for every design from this collection.
Temple designs from this collection feature hollow aspects to highlight these rare gems. Frames are significantly lighter than similar products, thanks to Lindberg’s use of the latest high technology as well as expert craftsmanship of in-house goldsmiths.
Buffalo horn is also offered in this collection, providing variation in colours and patterns of the frames. The horn is made from horns of special buffalo breeds from Asia, Africa, South America and Central America. Different breeds have different characteristics, allowing creative colour combinations for a variety of designs.
Celebrities in Lindberg
When Henrik was asked who the target customer was for Lindberg, he answered “human beings”. True enough, many iconic human beings have been seen wearing Lindberg glasses. Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada have reportedly more than 30 pairs of Lindberg glasses — the brand can keep count as they liked to have their names engraved on the inside of the temple.
Other celebrities to have been reported wearing Lindberg include: Nick Hewer, Daisy Lowe, Phil Jackson, Franz Beckenbauer, Matt Damon, Channing and Jenna Tatum, Kate Bosworth, Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, Diane Keaton, Chris Hemsworth, Richard Gere, Stellan Skarsgård, Vincent Cassel, Sam Worthington, Robert De Niro, Nick Jonas, Mandy Patinkin, Simon Cowell, Tyra Banks, Bill Gates, Bernie Ecclestone, Placido Domingo and François Hollande.
In fact, even the Old World royalty — including Queen Elizabeth II, Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Mary, Queen Margrethe ll, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie — have all worn Lindberg glasses. The company was even granted an exclusive “Royal Warrant Appointment by the Danish Court”, which is only granted to leading companies that provide goods to the Royal Family.
Below are some pictures of celebrities wearing Lindberg glasses:
Queen Elizabeth II —
Giorgio Armani —
Queen Margrethe ll —
Brad Pitt —
Tyra Banks —
Simon Cowell —
Phil Jackson —
Richard Gere —
Robert De Niro —
Lionel Jospin —
François Hollande —
Conclusion
The brand boasts an impressive clientele — a well-deserved success for its revolutionary inventions that have transformed the eyewear industry forever. Lindberg’s screwless designs, along with its innovative lightweight titanium, continue to create groundbreaking products that are of the highest level of quality and precision. There is no doubt that Lindberg delivers the most outstanding optical experience, from its patented manufacturing techniques to its customisation services.