The CALIMANI atelier · Bucharest
In a small atelier on Luminii Street we draw, cut and polish sunglasses in editions of 300. Every pair passes through the same hands, from the first pencil line to the number engraved on the temple.
- numbered pieces in every edition
- 300
- polishing steps, done by hand
- 14
- category 3 polarised lenses
- UV400
Manifesto
Shade is not the absence of light. It is the light you chose: filtered, softened, set carefully on your face. We make sunglasses for people who don't run from the sun, but want to look it in the eye.
— The CALIMANI atelier
The process
A new model takes us eight months to a year. Most of that time is invisible: it lives in fittings, retouches and patience.
1. Drawing
Everything starts with a pencil on tracing paper. We draw each frame at 1:1, then try it on real faces as printed prototypes until the proportions ask for nothing more.
The first line, drawn 1:1 2. Acetate or titanium
We choose the material for the frame's character. Italian acetate, made from cotton, has depth and warmth. Beta titanium is flexible, very light and afraid of neither cold nor salt.
Acetate blocks before cutting 3. Cutting
The fronts are milled from a single acetate block, then left to rest for days so the material settles before it is curved.
Fronts, just off the mill 4. 14-step polishing
Days in tumblers with wood chips and fine pastes, then hand polishing, edge by edge. Fourteen passes, until the frame catches the light without throwing it back harshly.
5. Polarised lenses
We fit category 3 polarised lenses with a UV400 filter, in tints chosen for each collection: amber, G-15 green, smoke grey or blue mirror.
Polarised lenses are fitted cold 6. Numbering
Finally, each pair receives its edition number, engraved inside the temple, and a signed certificate. After 300 pieces an edition closes; the next one comes in different colours.
Pair 142 of 300
Materials
We don't work with many materials, but we know them well. Each one has a reason to be there.
- [01]Frame
Italian acetate
A plant-based material, made from cotton, that holds colour deep inside. It warms to the touch, can be adjusted with heat and polishes to an almost silky finish.
- [02]Frame
Beta titanium
Lighter than steel and very flexible: it springs back after you bend it. Hypoallergenic, corrosion-resistant, equally at home by the sea, in the mountains and in town.
- [03]Lenses
Polarised, cat. 3, UV400
The polarising filter cuts reflections off water, snow and asphalt, and category 3 is the right one for strong summer sun. UV400 means a complete filter for UVA and UVB rays.
In numbers
Few pairs, made slowly
300
numbered pieces in every edition
14
polishing steps for every frame
16
models across three collections
UV400
complete UVA and UVB filter
Visit the atelier
Try on every model, watch a frame being polished, and we'll adjust your glasses for free whenever you need it.
- Opening hours
- Tuesday–Friday11:00–19:00
- Saturday11:00–15:00
- Sunday and MondayClosed
