Japanese Acetate

Cellulose acetate is a plant-based plastic, made from cotton fibre and wood pulp with plasticisers. Unlike cheap injection-moulded plastic with colour sprayed on the surface, premium frames are cut from block or sheet acetate where the pigment runs through the full thickness. Takiron Rowland, established in 1969 in Tatsuno, Hyogo, is Japan's specialist maker of acetate sheet for eyewear — the maker premium houses turn to.

Its acetate is made by a dry method with no glue or solvents and reduced plasticiser, extruded under high pressure and, above all, made slowly — extruded over weeks, dried for months, laminated by hand. That patience gives a harder, denser sheet that holds its shape, keeps a high gloss and resists yellowing. The density lets a frame be cut thinner and crisper while staying solid — the best version of the material for the part of a product worn on the face every day.