Several different laws and regulations have come into effect in the past few years that limit the use of potentially allergenic Nickel coatings on items that may be in contact with skin. The EN 1811 Norm edited in 2004 is one of them.
The Eyewear Industry now specifies that well designed optical glasses should not be in contact with any facial skin. Plastic, silicon parts or coatings are now used on the side pieces (referred to as temples) and the parts located on the top of the nose.
Despite the switch away from the traditional Nickel finishes, the following requirements have been set for replacement coatings, they must:
- offer an appealing design
- allow the frames to retain their shape during normal handling
- ensure a good corrosion resistance to perspiration
- they must offer good wear resistance.
Processes
We partner with major names such as Luxury in France, numerous players in the French region (Jura) as well as with Luxottica and Sàfilo in Italy, all specialized in Eyewear.
Several levels of quality define the make-up of frames:
- Sun protection or optical correction
- Type of substrate, varying from Maillechort (a Copper-Nickel-Zinc alloy) to Titanium
Electrolytic deposits are composed of several layers depending upon the degree of quality. Golden plating remains the quintessential way of enhancing optical frames. It is achieved through alloyed deposits made of Palladium or Gold, such as AURIUM 298. The specific colour, ‘Rose Lunette’ (‘Pink Glasses’), is synonymous with a quality-oriented supplier. This colour ideally reproduces laminated Gold, which has been abandoned due to prohibitive costs.
Innovations
Our Research has produced several significant benefits to the Eyewear Industry. For example, we have eliminated the use of heavy metals and the explosive picric acid, we have improved the thickness and alloy distribution of deposits and have designed new alloys.
We have also recently marketed new Gold plating processes called EPIDOR, PARADOR and AURANE, which ensure all of the three most important performance criteria
- allowing the highest productivity
- providing the highest possible quality
- being the most protective of the environment.
Plating on plastics
Conventional pre-plating – SILKEN Line
Hexavalent chrome free-SILKEN BOND
Decoration
Copper – CUBRAC 400 & 600 Lines
Copper – DIASTAR 100
Nickel – CRYSTAL
Nickel – CRYSTAL BLACK
Nickel – CRYSTAL BARREL
Nickel – SATIN CRYSTAL
Chrome – TRISTAR Line
Chrome – Chrome 200 Line
Tin Alloys – CEDIA
Tin Alloys – NISTLA
Precious metals
Bronze – AURALLOY Line
Gold – EPIDOR Line
Gold – AURIUM Line
Palladium – DECOMET Line
Ruthenium – RUTHENIUM Line
Platinum – PLATINUM Line
