Origin of the Species
It started with a single idea. A mad scientist looked at a product and saw an opportunity. Jim Jannard created a world's first - a motocross handgrip with a unique orbicular design, engineered to fit a competitor's closed hand. The year was 1975. It was the beginning of Oakley Sunglasses Inc., a technology company that would soon be fueled by a raging distaste for mediocrity and a fierce devotion to innovation.

Today, Oakley Sunglasses is driven to seek out problems, create solutions, and wrap those solutions in art. The company's obsession with innovation has built a legacy of science, sculpture, and defiance of conventional thinking. Reinventing the concept of eyewear was only the first step. The passion that ignited the optical industry is now unleashed on high-performance footwear, wristwatches, apparel and accessories.

Mad Science
Approximately 550 patents and 875 trademarks have been born in the depths of a design bunker, given form with stereo lithographic computer modeling, and brought to life in CAD/CAM liquid laser tanks. The finished prototypes are tested with spectrophotometers, environmental simulation chambers and ANSI Z87.1 impact rigs. And the journey does not end there. New inventions are evaluated in real-world scenarios, punished and field-tested by the world's top athletes who expose them to every conceivable abuse.

From pure titanium to ballistic Kevlar®, the finest materials available are fused and sculpted by custom-built machines that redefine the standards of precision engineering. Detonation containment bunkers vaporize precious metals. Vacuum plasma generators devour kilowatts of electricity. Mass impact accelerators push the boundaries of physics. Only then can an innovation receive the Oakley Sunglasses icon.

Unleashing the Icon
The passion and precision of mad science is echoed in its presentation to the consumer. Retailers are carefully selected for their ability to add value to the Oakley Sunglasses brand through service and image. The company devotes resources to educating sales staffs and maximizing product positioning. While staying true to its philosophy of selective distribution, Oakley Sunglasses continues to target specialty retail shops for further market penetration, opening new vistas of unmet demand and untapped resource.

A Global Brand
Infiltrating more than 100 countries around the world, Oakley Sunglasses has established itself as a global icon. Localized strategies of marketing and distribution maintain brand image and consistency among varying climates, cultures and continents by direct operations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, Japan and Canada. In other parts of the world, the integrity of the brand is safeguarded by carefully selected distributors who present Oakley Sunglasses products to their markets with local expertise.

Oakley Sunglasses - Protection

Oakley sunglasses surpass the protection requirements for high-mass impact, as defined by The American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Part of an industrial standard called ANSI Z87.1, the high-mass impact test requires that the lens be hit by a 500-gram metal spike (over a pound of weight) dropped from a height of 51.2 inches (over four feet). To pass the test, no frame parts or lens fragments that could damage the eye may be ejected during impact.

This test is designed to analyze protection against relatively heavy objects traveling at low speeds. Real-world scenarios include being hit by the tip of a ski or hitting a branch while mountain biking. The unique materials and geometries of Oakley sunglasses lens/frame combinations allow the company's premium eyewear to exceed the protection requirements of the high-mass impact test.

Oakley sunglasses also surpass the ANSI Z87.1 test for high-velocity impact protection. For this test, a pneumatic cannon accelerates a quarter-inch steel shot to 102 miles per hour. The lens is targeted straight on from three different heights, and at seven different angles. To pass the high-velocity test, no contact between the lens and eye is permitted during impact. In addition, no frame parts or lens fragments that could damage the eye may be ejected during impact.

To pass the high-velocity test, no contact between the lens and eye is permitted during impact. In addition, no frame parts or lens fragments that could damage the eye may be ejected during impact.

This test is designed to analyze protection against low-mass objects traveling at high speed. Real-world scenarios include being hit by kicked-up gravel while riding a motorcycle or speeding into rockslide pebbles while freeride mountain biking. The unique materials and geometries of Oakley sunglasses lens/frame combinations allow the company's premium eyewear to exceed the protection requirements of the high-velocity impact test.

Whether you're changing your look or optimizing your vision for changing light conditions, Oakley offers a full spectrum of lens color options. More than 40 lens hues have been formulated to precisely balance transmission, absorption and reflection of light, depending on the targeted environment for usage. Oakley optics are made of lightweight Plutonite® lens material, an innovation that blocks 100% of all UV while maintaining superior impact resistance. Optional Iridium® lens coatings are engineered to tune transmission for specific light conditions. Oakley technology also produces the best polarized lenses on the planet. Even prescription correction is available, achieved with custom-ground optical precision that exceeds industry standards.