Free Shipping On All US Orders.Glasses styles were changing rapidly in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. From cat eye glasses to the giant lenses of the 1970s, there are many styles to choose from. Swan Optical was an American glasses manufacturer that made all of the popular styles of the era, creating high quality frames that still look great today.
You can find a wide selection of Swan Optical and other vintage glasses at Eyeglasses Warehouse with options from many decades. Each of our glasses is an authentic vintage frame that can be fitted with your own lenses for a functional and stylish look.
About Swan USA Glasses
Swan Optical made glasses in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, all made in the USA. The brand was known for its interesting frames that added their own touch to more standard styles of the era.
Their glasses were made from cellulose acetate, a kind of plastic first developed in the 1940s. The plastic is made from plants, rather than petroleum like other plastics, and produced by combining several layers to make a block. The block is then cut to make the lens frames and temples, each part is polished, and the glasses are assembled.
Cellulose acetate is lightweight and affordable to make, which made it an ideal material for glasses makers like Swan as they sought to create comfortable and inexpensive eyeglasses.
But acetate is also far more customizable than standard glasses materials like metal and horn. The potential for new frame shapes, colors, and transparency gave rise to new styles with 1950s glasses and later on. Swan capitalized on the new materials and fashions to make glasses such as:
Swan Optical also continued to make gold wire rim glasses, often decorating the more subtle style with accents on the bridge or temples. Their plastic frames also featured accents, like rivets shaped like stars, to give each pair of vintage Swan glasses a special touch.
Vintage Swan glasses and other styles from the 1950s through 1970s are a great way to complete a retro look or incorporate a new style. Many of our vintage glasses at Eyeglasses Warehouse are new old stock, meaning they have never been worn and you will be the first. Each pair of Swan glasses can be easily updated with your prescription lenses or made into vintage sunglasses by your optician, and be ready for daily wear.
Look through our inventory of Swan frames, and check out our other brands for even more mid century glasses styles.