Loro Piana Discontinue Sunglasses Range Both N.P.E.L.P. Rare Earth And Standard

 

A mere ten short years ago we wrote about Loro Piana expanding their range to include sunglasess, found here.  Now, the brand have quietly, and without any real announcement, discontinued the sunglasses ranges altogether.  

Loro Piana's sunglasses really were something special when they first came on the market.  they were the first brand in the world to use Rare-Earth Minerals in the construction of retail sold lenses.  The difference these make is at high altitudes a wearer will have significantly more UV rays blocked, and the expensive manufacturing process meant their frames and lenses first sold for a not-inconsiderable starting cost of £950 each.

However, by 2015 they realised this was too steep, and while they kept using the N.P.E.L.P. moniker, which stood for Neodynium, Praseodymium and Erbium, they didn't actually contain any of these, and Loro Piana, quite rightly, did not claim they did any longer.  The effect at retail was the prices started from those of other brands in the same stratosphere, of around £500.

As we note, they have discontinued sunglasses altogether now, and while a webcrawl can find a link to the old area they used to be, it's now empty, and they no longer mention them on their main sites anywhere in the world, or have any ability to access that area on the web.  

Perhaps they will release a new series, or go back to their original vision of rare-earth material based lenses.  Perhaps the cost to value was simply not worth it as not enough consumers bought their glasses so they won't try again.  Whatever the case, if you were thinking of Loro Piana sunglasses as a purchase, old stock or the resale market is now your only option.