The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2024 - Issue 35

biteglasses the modern weaving loom, and Henri, a chemist, were the first to develop a satisfactory process for commercially produced cellulose acetate in 1905. They also discovered synthetic indigo dyes and celanese, an acetate yarn. After World War I, the British Celanese Limited made fibre celanese acetate commercially. The same trademarked celanese was first spun commercially in the US in 1924. During a 2011 visit to New York City with his girlfriend, Mark de Lange purchased a beautiful but expensive frame for a pair of glasses. “Back in the Netherlands, I had to place prescription lenses, and they cost more than the frames themselves,” he told The Makers Amsterdam online. After researching the eyewear industry, he formed Ace & Tate in 2013, offering Italian handmade frames made from the finest acetate and fitted with high-quality lenses for a fraction of the price. Ace & Tate was created to show eyewear is more than a medical necessity. It sought to change how people purchase glasses by embracing them as a lifestyle accessory. The brand offers opticals and sunglasses, the former being its most extensive range, optics with a blue light filter, and prescription sunglasses. “You can wear opticals every day throughout the year, and of course, the sun isn’t always shining, so we want to ensure our customers can purchase both at any given time.” The frames begin in-house in Ace & Tate’s Amsterdam design studio, where every step is overseen, from design inspiration to finished product. Its long-term partnerships with businesses include acetate manufacturers in Italy and China, strategically located near where their frames are produced. “For our stainless steel and titanium frames, the raw material is directly delivered to the factory and finished in the requested colour at the factory.” It takes over one hundred steps and three months for its dedicated manufacturing partners in Italy, Vietnam, Cambodia and China, the world’s best regions for eyewear production, to build handmade frames through a long process. “The combination of automated and manual steps make sure your frames get to you looking perfect.” The lenses come from suppliers in Italy, China, Hungary, and Thailand, and they are edged and mounted onto the frames either in Hungary or by their trained and skilled store staff. Images courtesy of Axe & Saw