Free Shipping On All US Orders.From the antique gold wire frame glasses of the 1800s to the iconic Shuron Ronsirs of the 1950s, Shuron is one of the best-known names in vintage eyewear. Their glasses defined the styles in many different decades, and a retro glasses collection is not complete without a pair of Shuron glasses.
Eyeglasses Warehouse carries Shuron glasses from many eras, including the Civil War era, the early 1900s, 1950s, 1960s, and beyond. Our frames are authentic Shuron that are reclaimed and restored, if necessary, by our team. Existing lenses can be switched to your prescription or preferred tinted lens. Check below to see the Shuron eyewear we have in stock.
About the Shuron Optical Company
Shuron began in 1865 as an American optical manufacturer. Throughout the early decades, they produced glasses for consumers and worked with the military to provide glasses for troops. This led to steady growth through the beginning of the 1900s.
Although Shuron had already been a well known eyewear company, their Ronsir design gave the brand enduring popularity that still goes strong. Shuron introduced the Ronsir in 1947 as the first browline glasses. These glasses had a thin wire rim for the bottoms and sides of the eyewires. Above the rims, a thick brow piece made of zyl, or cellulose acetate, drew attention to the wearer’s brow.
The first browline glasses had brows that popped off, letting the owner customize their glasses with different colors and styles. After decades where the only available glasses were wire rimmed or neutrally colored horn rimmed, buyers loved the new style. Other companies quickly copied the browlines, but Shuron remained the original throughout the 1950s and 60s.
While the Ronsirs are the best known glasses from Shuron, the brands other iconic styles over the decades have included:
- Gold Rim Glasses – Throughout the 1800s and first decades of the 1900s, gold wire was the dominant style. Shuron made 12k gold filled frames with round lenses, octagonal lenses, and ovoid lenses. Earlier glasses had the temple connect at the midpoint of the lens before Shuron adopted the new Ful-Vue style in the 1920s with the temple connection at the upper corner of the lense.
- Semi-Rimless Glasses – The Shuron Icebreakers and Shuron Ronwinne offered a more subtle style. Originally made with either cable temples or skull temples, there are today options for both styles of vintage glasses.
- Cat Eye Glasses – To capture the women’s glasses market as well during the 1950s, Shuron offered Nulady glasses, a cat eye style. The cat eye glasses used the same zyl as the Ronsirs, enabling Shuron to offer them in bright colors.
Also setting Shuron apart is the fact that all of their vintage glasses were made in the USA. While other glasses manufacturers began moving production overseas in the 1960s and later decades, and designers partnered with Italian manufacturing firms, Shuron maintained its production facilities in America, making these a traditional American style in every way.
Vintage glasses from Shuron never go out of style. The early wire rim and rimless glasses are attractive antiques that work for daily wear, reenactments, and screen costumes. Browline glasses experience a resurgence every few years, usually coinciding with their appearance in film or TV, but remain an eye-catching retro look whenever you wear them.
Eyeglasses Warehouse is proud to carry many pairs of vintage Shuron eyeglass frames, as well as offer an inventory that is always changing and growing. We examine each pair of our Shuron glasses for quality to provide you with vintage glasses ready for years more wear. Browse through our selection of Shuron glasses to find your style, and bookmark this page to be the first to know about new glasses.