Vanguard Aviator Sunglasses
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Vanguard
Aviator
An oversized aviator on a hairline metal rim, with a flat brow bar and a screw-head detail at each hinge. Seven gradients, no flat tints.
Polarised lenses with UV400 filtering.
Big lens, invisible frame
The lens is oversized and the rim holding it is as fine as it can draw it. That inversion is the whole point: at a glance you see a large sheet of graduated colour with a single bright line around it, and almost no frame at all. It is the aviator taken as far in one direction as the construction allows.
Shown here in Black Gold. The same front carries six further gradients.
One bar and a screw head
A flat brow bar runs straight across the top, and it is doing structural work: on a lens this large a single thin rim would lose its shape without it. Nose pads sit on adjustable arms below the bar, so the height can be set rather than accepted.
The only decoration is at the hinge, where a raised screw-head detail sits where the arm meets the rim. Beyond that, the temples are plain metal running to a moulded black tip.
Where it sits
- An oversized teardrop that runs from the brow well past the cheekbone
- Adjustable nose pads set the height and keep the lens off the cheek
- A hairline rim, so the frame disappears and the lens colour carries
- Moulded tips curve behind the ear rather than gripping it
- Suits most faces — the size is what makes it a statement, not the shape
Seven gradients, and the lens is the frame
The lenses are polarised with an anti-glare treatment and full UV400 filtering across UVA and UVB. Every colourway is a gradient — dark at the brow, clearing towards the lower edge — which on a lens this deep is what keeps the lower field of vision usable.
With a rim this fine, the tint is doing almost all of the visual work. That is why the range is organised by lens colour rather than by frame colour.
One front, seven gradients
Each name pairs the lens colour with the metal finish. Black Gold is the deepest; Peach Gold and Sky Blue Silver are the two lightest.
Why it costs what it costs
A hairline rim around an oversized lens is the hardest metal front to get right. There is barely any material to hold the shape, so the wire has to be formed precisely and the brow bar has to take the load; get either wrong and the frame twists the first time it is folded. Seven separate gradients then means seven separate lens runs.
We sell direct. There is no shop floor and no distributor taking a cut on the way, so the retail margin that normally sits on top is not in the price. What that pays for is the rim and the lens range.
- Sold direct — no retail margin stacked on the frame
- Polarised, UV400 lenses rather than a plain tint
- A hairline metal rim, not a thick one made to look delicate
- Adjustable pads, so one frame fits a range of nose bridges
- Seven gradients at one price
| Frame | Metal, hairline rim with a plated finish |
|---|---|
| Rim | Full rim, oversized teardrop |
| Bridge | Flat brow bar with adjustable nose pads |
| Temples | Plain metal with a screw-head hinge detail and moulded tips |
| Lens | Polarised, gradient, with anti-glare treatment |
|---|---|
| UV protection | UV400, UVA and UVB |
| Finishes | Black, Purple, Sky Blue, Brown, Blue, Peach and Pink |
1 × Vanguard Aviator · 1 × case
How oversized is it?
Enough that the lens reaches from the brow line past the cheekbone. It reaches past the temple on a smaller face, which is the proportion this shape is built on.
Which gradient should I choose?
Black Gold for a working sunglass in strong sun. Brown Gold for flat or overcast light. The pink, peach and blue gradients read as colour on the face rather than as shade, and are the summer options.
Is a hairline rim fragile?
It is thinner than a standard metal rim, so it does not survive being sat on. What it does resist is twisting, because the brow bar carries the load rather than the rim alone.
Can the fit be adjusted?
Yes, at the nose. The pads sit on metal arms and can be pinched or eased to raise and lower the frame — worth doing on a lens this deep, to keep the lower edge off the cheek.
Will the plating wear?
It is a gold plating, and it keeps its finish best when the pair goes back into its case rather than loose into a bag.
How should it be cleaned?
Rinse under cool water and dry with a soft cloth. A large gradient lens shows marks more than a small dark one, so dry-wiping it is the fastest way to leave fine scratches.
Seven gradients, seven separate runs
Each gradient is its own lens run, and a graduated lens that comes out uneven across a span this wide is scrapped rather than sold. Spread over seven colours, that leaves very little of each.
Pick your colourway above and add it to the bag. If it is not right on your face, send it back — the only thing you risk is missing the one you wanted.