Sabae is to glasses what Switzerland is to watches: an epicentre of world-class craftsmanship. The tiny Japanese city has been producing high-quality eyewear for over a century, and now makes over 90 per cent of the country’s glasses – a feat immortalised in spectacle-shaped sculptures and even a festival dedicated to the art of eyewear. Mass production, this isn’t.
Sabae’s craftspeople are known for their artistry; each pair of glasses is carefully constructed by hand, the frame teased and tinkered into shape with the same care as a practiced calligrapher. It was here, in the 1980s, that titanium frames were first dreamed up; now, in 2025, eyewear brand Cutler and Gross has released its new all-titanium collection, entirely handcrafted in Sabae.
‘Japan is renowned for presenting the world’s finest titanium craft,’ says Jack Dooley, Cutler and Gross’s CEO. ‘The Knightsbridge Green collection traces our heritage from London to Japan, where we first welcomed titanium eyewear in 2001. This collection marks a celebration of where our story began, and how craftsmanship and innovation continue to define our future.’
There are five styles limited to 350 editions each in the new Knightsbridge Green collection, with each titanium frame undergoing a 300-step process. By using titanium, the brand has updated some of its signature elements – like its Oyster pin, a design staple since the1960s, which now has a new Art Deco look and is made from hand-rolled titanium. There’s also a nod to British motoring, with some elements inspired by ’60s and ’70s British supercars.
A good example of this is the Lansdowne 1431, whose nose bridge is reminiscent of the polished grille on a 1960s Aston Martin. Ditto the contoured temple tips, which sweep behind your ears with the same clean taper as a 1970s fender. There are sunglasses, too – some edged with Art Deco geometry, others finished with the subtle gleam of fine jewellery. Yet across the collection, what stands out is the clarity of its design.
It’s the same precision that defines both Japanese artistry and British engineering – two worlds united by an obsession with detail. Perhaps that’s the luxury of these frames: they don’t just correct your vision, they refine it.
From £560; cutlerandgross.com
Georgie Young is digital editor of Secret Trips
