Innovation
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R&D
Production process
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Safilo Group is a world leader in the high-end eyewear sector. Since 1934, Safilo has grown exponentially and today the Group boasts a vast and prestigious portfolio of brands: over 30 of the most famous names in international fashion and five house brands. Each and every pair of glasses is characterised by an attentive and detailed development process which begins in the futuristic Research and Development Division. An unparalleled, unique heritage of know-how.
Safilo's Research and Development Department studies and develops groundbreaking technical solutions and new materials.
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Research and development
Research and development (R&D) centres, operating since the 1970's and which employ dozens of engineers and experts, involve creating new materials, production processes and technologies with the aim of increasing product resistance and durability, improving weight and fit and developing innovative features. Here groundbreaking technical solutions and new materials are studied and developed: nanotechnologies, composite materials, surface treatments and processing systems. Safilo also undertakes R&D to develop new instruments and machinery. All these activities have led to about 40 patent applications being placed in the last few years. Patents that distinguish Safilo products through revolutionary mechanical details and exclusive finishes. An extraordinary capacity for innovation, for total creative freedom.
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Production process
Design concepts take shape in the Padua-based Safilo Design Centre: 150 designers and 3,000 new models every year.
The initial hand-drawn sketches are transformed into computerized 3D models. They then become perfectly realistic prototypes made using stereolithography technology.
Lastly, they are perfected by the expert abilities of our technical craftsmen.
Once the design aspects have been defined, careful strategic analysis guarantees the industrialisation of the product. This is the start of a development process capable of merging creative intuition with production requirements.
Although different technologies and materials are used, Safilo applies to each and every product the same criteria of aesthetic and qualitative excellence, that starts with a careful examination of the raw materials and semi-finished products.
The technical certification of materials, machinery and processes finally leaves the path clear for production.
Safilo's production facilities in Italy and abroad are distinguished according to the four different materials used to make the glasses: metal, of which the most prestigious is titanium, hypoallergenic and extremely lightweight, acetate, a plastic material that makes it possible to create incredible colour effects, injection moulded plastic, which is very strong and highly resistant, and Optyl, a trademark which identifies a special plastic material used exclusively by Safilo to create some of the models in its most prestigious eyewear collections.
These materials are accompanied by the production of the accessories used to complete and enhance each pair of Safilo glasses.
Once again, the quality of materials, process efficiency, production checks and the technologies used are all cutting edge.
Depending on the materials it is made of, each pair of Safilo glasses is subject to between 40 and 100 processing phases.
The production cycle starts with the manufacture of the frontal sections and temples.
The tumbling process then finishes the various elements of the glasses. Any flaw in the metal, acetate, injection moulded plastic and Optyl is eliminated.
Glasses and metal accessories are galvanised using precious materials: gold, palladium, platinum and ruthenium.
The meticulous attention to quality continues with the colouring process. It is in this delicate phase that Safilo obtains the stylish finishes that make its products unique: shades, transparency, contrasts and exclusive treatments. This is how Safilo turns fashion concepts into reality allowing free expression of style and design, simultaneously guaranteeing absolute protection and quality. The hypoallergenic epoxy resins of the surface finish are just one example of the attention dedicated to the future wearers of Safilo glasses.
Quality, creativity and technology that Safilo once again assigns to human hands in order for stringent controls throughout all processing phases to be carried out.
Different materials are used for sunglass lenses, glass, polycarbonate, NXT, nylon and organic glass, all of the highest mechanical, physical and optical quality.
The cutting phase entails a series of operations: shaping, engraving the lens, creating holes for finishing touches such as seals and diamond detailing. All these operations call for great expertise in the design phase, skill during processing and experience in the control phase.
The production cycle now converges for the assembly phase. The frontal section, temples and lenses now finally take shape to create the glasses. Now come the accessories that make each model unique, for their extraordinary colour effects and original and unusual shapes, for the meticulous attention to detail and for the quality and distinctive character that Safilo glasses will always epitomise.
This is what has made Safilo a leader in eyewear sector. A tradition entrusted to the refined dexterity and professional expertise of people, and to the constant quality control that characterises each and every production phase.
The process closes with the finishing phase of the glasses production: the lenses and frames are examined, the mechanics of the temples are checked and the hinges are adjusted and oiled.
A stringent and meticulous process that concludes with product certification.
All the products manufactured in Safilo factories in Italy and abroad are finally sent to the Distribution Centre in Padua, before being dispatched to the world's markets.
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