Gold

Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses — Gold, Green Flash by Adrian Galli

The problem is… I only have sunglasses I love so these too are a favorite pair. The green lenses remind me of the Emerald Coast, white sand beaches, and a cool breeze off the Gulf of Mexico while the hot sun beaming down on a summer day in July. Greens and Blues tend to be my favorite colors as is. I’ve actually had these for years and they are so cool.

I had never spent nearly $200 on a pair of sunglasses before but I had to have them and my favorite pair of Fossil sunglasses had gotten both scratched and the nose piece had fallen off never to be found. Time to upgrade.

The clerk at the Sunglass Hut was insistent. “You’ll take good care of these. You’ll have them forever because you invested extra money in them.” And he was right. Not only were they more expensive than their Fossil counterparts, they were better made. Glass lenses, more durable frames, a better warranty, and infinitely cooler. So I handed over my Amex and said, “let’s do it.”

Well, that ended well. Now I only spend a bunch of money on sunglasses. It’s a trap! But a good one. My motto is to spend good money on good things because they will likely last longer and, generally, are better. As a favorite TV judge always says, “lo barato sale caro.” The cheap comes out expensive.

My Fossil sunglasses did look cool but they were plastic lenses and cheaper frames. Not knocking them either. Until these Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses came along, they were my favorite pair. To be clear, if you’re looking to NOT spend a couple hundred dollars on sunglasses, I’d whole heartedly recommend Fossil.

But here I am with my Green Flash lenses and no regrets about spending the money.

The lenses are not only cool AF, they reproduce color well and have limited flare/glare in direct sunlight. Light weight, no pinching of the nose or squeezing at the temples, and easy to keep clean. They look good, feel good, and work well. Aces.

At $178, it is a bunch to spend but as the Sunglass Hut clerk said to me, I think once you have a pair like this (or more expensive), you’ll find you’ll take great care of them. These are now four years old and look as good as the day I bought them. Durability is key for something that is in you bag, in a pocket, cold weather, warm weather, sand, wind, water, etc. They’ve held up superbly.

Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses comes a eleven colors so if the green isn’t for you, check out the Yellow Flash, another fave, red, blue, lilac, mirror (these are on my acquisition list too), and more.

Price: $178

Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses — Gold, Yellow Flash by Adrian Galli

Perhaps one of my favorite pairs I've ever owned, the Yellow Flash lenses of these Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses feel like something from a Japanese anime, sci-fi flick—or maybe a golden version of the T-1000 (say... that's a nice bike.) These were my sunglasses of choice for the fall and winter. They are super slick and definitely catch people's attention.

I may not wear them much during the summer—I find that the yellow just felt like a good fall/winter styling. Further, the yellow lenses do change color significantly—colors are very warm. I might even call it a feature. The warmer color in the winter, when I wore these the most, was nice. Same token, during the spring and summer, these lenses render greens really nicely. Maybe I’ll wear them year round!

It is simply worth noting these lenses do not reproduce color as accurately as other Flash Lenses. My Gold, Green Flash pair are fairly neutral in color reproduction. In the non-Flash Lenses Aviator category, like @Collection Gold, Grey/Blue have great color reproduction too. (At this rate, I'll have the whole series. #addiction)

Contrast is good and flare/glare is will controlled in direct sunlight. 

A big plus, however, of those three Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses mentioned, the Yellow Flash pair we the only ones that work with Face ID on iPhone X.

Having had them for a while, I can safely say they are awesome and you should pick up a pair. At $178, it is not a low cost accessory, but cool is cool is cool.

Price: $178

Pro Tip:

If you have an American Express card, check out the offers in their app on online. I got $30 this Ray-Ban purchase—second time it has popped up for my card. Definitely take advantage of that little perk.

*Works with Face ID on iPhone X.

Ray-Ban Aviator @Collection — Gold, Gray/Blue Classic by Adrian Galli

I'm a sucker for badass sunglasses. By far my favorites are aviators and you can't go wrong with a pair of Ray-Ban. They are expensive but with metals frames and glass lenses, many also polarized, one will take extra good care of them when $150 or $200 is dropped.

Meet Ray-Ban Aviator @Collection. They are a special breed of their Aviators and these don't disappoint. The shiny gold frames are very pleasing with a gray/blue lens. I've had my eye on them for sometime.

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I couldn't help but pick these up for my Spring and Summer needs. My images don't do them justice with that blue flair to them but they are a sexy pair of sunglasses. Comfortable and mostly neutral in color reproduction, they might be a touch on the cool (color temperature) side.

In direct sun, there is little lens flare or glare in your eyes and contrast is still very good. These are not polarized but hold their own with reflections. The medium dark is also good for every day use. Even if it is a touch cloudy, they aren't too dark.

This pair also feels a little lighter than my Aviator Flash sunglasses. Not sure why but it is welcome. I've never had a bad pair of sunglasses from Ray-Ban but a little weight off the bridge of one's nose is a plus.

The thing that really catches my attention about these comes from the ever so slight rose tint to the gold frames. That touch of detail in combination with the blue/gray lenses is something that I really love. The colors work really well together and shows attention to detail that makes me love good design so much. 

One thing to note, these sunglasses do not work with Face ID on iPhone X. To be clear, this isn't, and won't ever really be a complaint but just information as Face ID does work with some sunglasses. My Aviator Gold, Yellow Flash sunglasses, for example, do while these do not. 

Only opportunity these sunglasses have, when the inner lenses have any smudges or oil from eyelashes, etc. on them, it tends to be easily visible. While I clean my sunglasses frequently, mostly I don't see these smudges while wearing them. In this instance, and I can only hypothesize it is the coating or the color of the lenses in conjunction with the oils, I see these smudges in my vision. Not a big deal, but something I noticed within a few days of wearing them. However, it only seemed to be visible in direct sunlight.

I rarely do the whole "unboxing video/review" thing... I generally think they are kind of silly (no one cares that you get a warrant card in the box) but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my package. Ray-Ban added a few fine touches to their @Collection packaging. 

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The box itself is a nice matte black—I am a big fan of sleek, simple packaging. Opening the box, I found that the usual case was replaced with a nicer embossed leather case. It's the little things that matter. In fact, honestly, I wasn't even going to write a review about these sunglasses right away but Ray-Ban's extra polish to this experience was so welcome and my new focus on Hexagon + Adrian's Gear relaunch, I waited to even wear them until I had a chance to write this section.

Ray-Bans are great and decently priced compared to some of the sunglasses out there. While that $160 average is a lot to swallow for some, Aviators are classics that will never die. I'll have these sunglasses for a long time. 

Well constructed, adjustments on them for life, glass lenses, and amazing design, this will not be my last pair of Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses. Many have tried to copy these and make their own versions but Ray-Bans are still the best.

Price: $163

Pro Tip:

If you have an American Express card, check out the offers in their app on online. I got $30 back on this Ray-Ban purchase—second time it has popped up for my card. Definitely take advantage of that little perk.