VICTREX PEEK selected for innovative eyewear hinge

Tokyo, Japan – Victrex Polymer Solutions announced that VICTREX® PEEK has been specified by Boston Club, the premier luxury eyewear manufacturer in Japan, as the material of choice for its new JAPONISM PROJECTION series of glasses. The material selection for this series required high performance strength, wear resistance and ductility due to the unique screw-less hinge design that would face the flexibility and temperature variations of daily use by discerning consumers. VICTREX® PEEK, a high performance thermoplastic often used in critical aerospace, automotive and medical device applications, was the ideal material to meet these expectations.

Boston Club’s revolutionary design is exclusive to their new JAPONISM PROJECTION series launched earlier this month in Asia. The challenge was to create a high quality product that consumers could use continuously and effortlessly without the maintenance associated with traditional hinges that use tiny screws to keep them assembled. This innovation is now the world’s first “Rudder Hinge” mechanism in eyewear; inspired by the design of aircraft rudders that operate as a seamless joint to avoid the aggravation of bent and disconnected frames.

The Rudder Hinge had to display extreme durability against wear damage. When running a continuous open and close test of the hinge, most eyeglasses on the market today exhibit signs of immediate wear damage after 1,000 to 5,000 cycles, whereas the Rudder Hinge, made with VICTREX PEEK, showed no sign of wear damage even after 20,000 cycles.

Hironobu Kasashima, chief designer of the JAPONISM PROJECTION eyeglasses stated, “The JAPONISM brand was developed to differentiate top quality eyeglasses embodying excellence using Japanese technology. Our goal was to create glasses that will be treasured by consumers because of their high durability – the very opposite of mass-produced generic eyewear that is more of a consumable item in many instances.” The Rudder Hinge of the JAPONISM PROJECTION combines the best technology and highest performing material. The brilliant mind of eyewear craftsmen plus the skills of one of Japan’s top pipe processing companies worked together in testing and ultimately selecting high performance VICTREX PEEK polymer for the hinge as this material has proven its performance in many demanding industries across the globe.
About Boston Club

Established in 1984, Boston Club is an eyewear manufacturer based in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company’s philosophy: “Creating unique eyeglasses culture through connections with people.” Boston Club is engaged in the design, planning, and manufacture of eyeglass frames for their original brands as well as other popular brands. Boston Club has distribution channels through both retailers and its own boutique GLOSS in Minami-Aoyama and Ginza, Tokyo. Boston Club’s original brand includes JAPONISM, BCPC, MUGUET, and GLOSS-EYES.