Oakley Sunglasses Technology

Twenty-five years ago, a technology company looked at a product and saw and opportunity. The result was an innovation, a motocross handgrip with a unique orbicular design. The company was Oakley. It began a legacy of seeking out problems and solving them in ways that redefine product categories. This discipline requires an unyielding drive to defy convention and invent a better solution. It is base on three fundamentals:

1. Find opportunity.
2. Solve with technology.
3. Wrap in art.

Oakley Safety Eyewear

ANSI Z87.1
All Oakley Eyewear meets or exceeds ANSI Z87.1 standards for optical clarity and impact resistance. Oakley has not taken additional measurements for OSHA standards. Please check with your employer for which standards may be required for use at work. OSHA Standards (--) 29 CFR, Eye and Face Protection (--) 1910.133 Federal regulated standards in which employers must comply for the protection and safety of their employees. This standard obligates employers to enforce the uses of appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to hazardous materials, liquids, vapors, chemicals or other harmful substances. It provides specific requirements of such protection allowed in the workplace. OSHA references ANSI Z87.1 as the benchmark standard for occupational eye and face protection. Section (b) (1) Protective eye and face devices purchased after July 5, 1994 shall comply with ANSI Z87.1-1989, "American National Standard Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection," which is incorporated by reference as specified in Sec. 1910.6. www.osha.gov ANSI Z87.1 - Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Standard Z87.1 (--) 1979 American National Standard Institute is a private, non-profit organization. It includes the specific standards for evaluating factors such as impact resistance, lens thickness, projectile penetration, and optical quality.

Oakley Lens Technology

Protection against ultraviolet light has nothing to do with lens color. The protection is built into Oakley's Plutonite® lens material, so full UV filtering is a standard feature with all Oakley lenses, no matter what the hue. Even clear Oakley lenses block 100% of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light. The raked-back curvature of Oakley eyewear provides further protection by blocking UV from the periphery.

IRIDIUM COATINGS
Optional Iridium® lens coatings allow you to tune transmission for specific light conditions. Superheated metal oxides are fused to the lens at the molecular level, permanently bonding to create an optically uniform layer.

By varying the composition and degree of saturation, Oakley Iridium® can produce a spectrum of lens hues, tailoring transmission of the light through the lenses from 9 to 92% of available light condition. Each lens coating is specifically formulated for optimum balance between glare, reflection, light transmission, and absorption.

When light passes through a sunglass lens, some wavelengths are reflected by the surface and others are absorbed by the lens material. The light that actually reaches your eye is a measure of the lens transmission level. With Oakley's wide range of optional lens hues, you can choose to have as little as 9% of available light reach your eye, or as much as 93%.

Molecules in the lens absorb specific wavelengths of light, preventing them from reaching your eye. With the full array of Oakley lens color options, you can select a precisely tuned level of absorption that maximizes performance for any light condition.

POLARIZATION
A performance advantage in sports applications, polarization shields the retina from eye-cringing glare. Oakley rejected the industry standards and devised an injection molding process that infuses the lens material around the intricated polarizer. This protects the filter, minimizes distortion, and maximizes visual acuity. Polarized Oakley eyewear benefits from the UV and impact protection of Plutonite lens material, the glare reduction and contrast enhancement of Iridium lens coatings, and the wide-angle clarity of XYZ Optics. Proprietary geometry allows for wrapped, raked-back configurations that maximize peripheral vision and protection.

POLARIC ELLIPSOID
Oakley® shredded the blueprints of spherical shielding. A complete reinvention of single-lens optics, POLARIC ELLIPSOID™ geometry spans the full visual range with breathtaking clarity. Precise contouring provides the best possible equalization between each point along the arc of a lens and the wearer's eyes. This minimizes distortion at all angles of vision.

XYZ OPTICS
This breakthrough allows dual-spherical lenses to convey light waves with unmatched fidelity. By providing correction along three axes--not just two--XYZ Optics™ maintains clarity over the full angular range while minimizing distortion caused by refraction. It allows for wrapped, raked-back configurations that maximize peripheral vision and protection against sun, wind, and side impact.

PLUTONITE
Oakley's proprietary lens material inherently blocks 100% of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light. Durable, lightweight Plutonite® provides startling optical clarity and protection against high-mass and high-velocity impact, exceeding the ANSI Z87.1 performance requirements of the American National Standards Institute.

HIGH DEFINITION OPTICS
A critical mass of optical technology, High Definition Optics® (HDO®) is the fusion of POLARIC ELLIPSIOD lens geometry, XYZ Optics, and Plutonite lens material. HDO maintains precise angulation and correction for lens astigmatism, refractive power, optical clarity, prismatic power, and imbalance, basically anything that can come between your optic nerve and the rest of the world.

Oakley Frame Technology

Oakley's three-point fit ensures that frames contact the wearer only at the bridge of the nose and the temples, providing comfort and adaptability. Oakley X Metal® combines a new metallurgical process with innovations in architectural mechanics. O Matter® frames are engineered with flexible polycarbonate that minimizes weight while maximizing durability. Wires™ are created with an ultra-lightweight alloy of five metallic compounds. Unobtainium® earsocks and nosebombs provide a soft yet secure grip, increasing adhesion with perspiration.