Tom Davies: the Unboxing

I just wrote about adding Tom Davies bespoke custom-made eyewear to our shop. It was about six weeks ago that I put the collection into the shop, and at that time I designed my first pair of frames for myself.

Today my eyewear arrived.



These are not just a pair of frames. In this box is a celebration of bespoke engineering and pageant of eyewear couture. The soft padded vinyl box alone is fabulous. (Click the pictures for links to the full-sized images.)



Inside, the case and two envelopes, and Tom Davies couture emblem.

   

A sample of the acetate material used to make my frames, laser engraved with my name, is secured into the box.



The first envelope contains an explanation of the craftsmanship and precision design that went into the fabrication of this piece of couture eyewear. Custom measurements were taken for the length of temple to my ear, bend behind the ear, head width at temple and ears, lens size according to eyes, and frame curvature, and all were incorporated into my one-of-a-kind handmade frames. The second envelope is the guarantee of excellence, and the 3-year warranty that backs it up.



On the reverse of this explanation sheet is on the the coolest features of the package, the complete CAD diagram Tom Davies’ designers conjured up and used for fabrication, based on my specifications.



The case itself is an elegant padded vinyl black brick, save for the embossed TD logo devoid to adornment, reminiscent of Clarke/Kubrick’s monolith.



Then, the case not so much opens as unfurls, to reveal the culmination of custom design, six weeks hand-crafting, and excited unboxing.




The finishing touch is a twin personalized laser engraving like that on my box, and the unembellished assurance of “handmade”.


 

I have a large head and require generously proportioned eyewear. Usually I find frames that give me a decent facial fit and then mangle them (professionally mangle, that is) into a good head fit. All frames could use a little tweaking for the ideal fit, and I will adjust these some, but with the custom sizing off the measurements of my cranium these are the first frames I have ever put on and felt they are not too small. If anything, they are slightly large (easily remedied)!



I was very excited for my custom made-to-measure eyewear, and am even more impressed after inspecting the final result. After review of the design accuracy and precision craftsmanship, and simply feeling them on even before final adjustment, I earnestly believe Tom Davies bespoke couture frames to be the highest quality, best fitting, and greatest value eyewear I have ever encountered in 11 years as an optician.

I will be designing myself several more pairs. The design process itself is addicting! After my unboxing in the office, everyone else on staff is awed and ready to design their own custom eyewear.

In addition to my own, I have designed a pair for one of our staff and one for our first bespoke eyewear patient. Each of these is still in production, and if their results are anything like mine, they will never settle for off-the-shelf again.

I look forward to designing bespoke eyewear for many customers in the future.