Quality and finish
Genuine Ray-Ban sunglasses are hand made in Italy and, as such, are of a very good quality of material and finish. Hold your Ray-Bans and have a close look. Do they feel of a quality weight? Is the finish around the joints of a high quality? Real acetate Ray-Bans like the Wayfarer aren't made in a mold, they are cut from a solid block of high quality acetate and hand polished. They should have no seams or rough joints in the acetate material. If you don't have the opportunity to look closely and feel the product then maybe it's best not to buy.
Lenses
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All Ray-Ban lenses are good quality but most of the classic Ray-Ban designs come with superior glass lenses. Tap the lenses carefully and feel if they are made of glass. Fakes very rarely use glass lenses. If it's not glass then don't panic, some newer designs use other materials; Try checking for the logos instead.
All new Ray-Bans have a "RB" etched onto one lens (check the far left side of the left lens). On fakes the etching will either be missing or of poor quality. The "RB" etching should be crisp and etched, not painted on. Vintage Ray-Bans might have a "BL" marking to denote the brands original owners Bausch & Lomb, but if you're buying new then look for the RB logo etching. On the opposite lens in the top corner you should see "Ray-Ban" written in white. On some new releases that logo may be printed in gold instead of white. It should be printed crisply and should exactly match the official Ray-Ban logo. If you have chosen a Ray-Ban with polarized lenses, then the right lens will have "Ray-Ban P" written in the top corner but the "RB" etching remains the same. Ray-Ban Polarized lenses always have "Ray-Ban P" in the top corner. If the "P" is missing and you've been told the lenses are polarized then be cautious. Occasionally Ray-Ban releases special editions of lenses, for example their Chromance range. Here you'll find CHROMANCE written on the bottom of the left lens (the one with the etching). |
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Frames
Ray-Ban use a range of plastic and metal materials to make their sunglasses. With any of the materials used the finish on both the front and back of the frames should be clean and free welds or blobs of melted plastic material. As a rule the back of the frames should be as highly finished as the front.
With real Ray-Ban sunglasses you should see lettering on the inside of the arms of the frames. One the left side you will find the model and sizing details, and on the right you should see "made in Italy" (sometimes "handmade in Italy") and a CE mark. Remember a genuine CE mark is an important sign that a manufacturer has tested the safety of their product, but it is easily forged so don't trust the CE mark alone.
With real Ray-Ban sunglasses you should see lettering on the inside of the arms of the frames. One the left side you will find the model and sizing details, and on the right you should see "made in Italy" (sometimes "handmade in Italy") and a CE mark. Remember a genuine CE mark is an important sign that a manufacturer has tested the safety of their product, but it is easily forged so don't trust the CE mark alone.
Hinges
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Ray-Ban Original Wayfarers have a silver coloured seven barrel hinge (see the image below). This means that the hinge has seven interlocking loops for the bolt to pass through. Hinges of this quality are not usually found on inferior fake sunglasses. The hinge itself is held to the acetate (plastic) frame with two metal rivets on the front and two on the side.
Hinges on the Clubmaster will look very similar to the Wayfarer shown below only with five barrels on the hinge instead of seven. Of course, other genuine Ray-Ban models will have different hinges but always check that they look of good quality. If the frame is made of acetate (plastic) then the hinges should be embedded neatly into the frame rather than showing any traces of glue or melted plastic. Hinges on metal frames like the Aviator should be held with high quality screws that match the colour of the metal frame. Generally we're looking for quality here. If it looks cheap, avoid. |
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Nose Pads
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Nose pads are the small rubberised cushions that sit on you nose to support the sunglasses. Plastic frames usually don't have nose pads but metal frames will. Most Ray-Ban metal sunglasses have transparent nose pads with the Ray-Ban logo embossed into their centre (see below). On a few of their metal sunglasses the nose pads will be a pale peach colour but the logo on the metal centre will still be visible if you look closely. Most fakes will not have these nose pads.
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PackagingReal Ray-Ban sunglasses come with a Ray-Ban case. There are different cases for different designs, but most look and feel like a tan or black leather.
Look for the Ray-Ban logo on the stud of the case; fakes are often missing this (see the image below). Inside the case you should find a folded paper instruction book. Check for any spelling errors as this is something fakers often get wrong. You should also given a Ray-Ban cleaning cloth (usually grey) in a clear plastic wrapper. |
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Where did you buy it ?
This is probably the best way to spot a fake. The surest way to find an original is to buy from a legitimate seller. To sell new original Ray-Ban sunglasses you must be a registered dealer. If you bought it anywhere other than a legitimate dealer's store then it could well be a fake. If you are in any doubt if the dealer is legitimate then don't buy.
At the Eye Centre we're official Ray-Ban dealers. You can check if a retailer is authorised by Ray-Ban by using the store locator on their website.
At the Eye Centre we're official Ray-Ban dealers. You can check if a retailer is authorised by Ray-Ban by using the store locator on their website.
Does it even matter if it's real?
While it might seem that you've gotten a good deal in buying a fake pair of sunglasses that almost look the part, remember that fake products are bad for everyone:
- They are often made in factories that do not respect their worker's rights, health and safety.
- They are dangerous. Sunglasses are made to stop UV radiation from damaging your eyes and fakes rarely comply to safety standards. As the dark lenses make your pupils dilate (grow wider) without filtering out the damaging UV light. This lets more unfiltered UV radiation into the back of your eyes causing damage. So wearing a fake can often be worse for your eyes than wearing nothing at all. Find out more about UV here.
- They increase the price of the originals as the legitimate manufacturers have to factor in the costs of fighting the fakers.
- Real products come with real warranties if something goes wrong. They are more expensive because they are made with quality materials.
- And anyone who knows genuine Ray-Bans will probably see that they're fake anyway. You might just end up looking cheap.
If you're still not sure...
If you still have doubts about the authenticity of your Ray-Ban sunglasses then you should contact Ray-Ban directly via their website. And while we hope this guide has been helpful, please note that it intended as a guide only and that we are unable to comment on specific cases of suspected fakes.