Handmade in the old way · London since 1926 · At Amelie & Frank's

Oliver Goldsmith

London, 1926. The house that made spectacles worth being seen in, and in 1982 became official supplier of sunglasses to Diana, Princess of Wales.

From our edit

The house that made eyewear fashionable

Philip Oliver Goldsmith founded the house in London in 1926. His sons ran it from a workshop in Poland Street, cutting every frame by hand, and turned eyewear from a medical necessity into something people wanted to be photographed in. Audrey Hepburn wears the Manhattan in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Diana Dors took the white Martian to Cannes. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds several of these frames in its fashion collection.

In 1982 Oliver Goldsmith was appointed official supplier of sunglasses to Diana, Princess of Wales. Her frame was the Berwick, and she wore hers in white. The V&A holds a vintage Berwick in the archive. Prince Charles wore the Carl. The pair of them ran on the same cover of Weekend in 1984.

Almost nobody in Australia knows this. The house is barely stocked here, which is most of why it is in our edit.

It earns its place on the making as much as the history. Claire Goldsmith, the founder's great-granddaughter, took the house on in 2006 and reissues shapes from its own archive rather than putting a logo on a generic frame. Each pair is cut from Mazzucchelli acetate and worked through around thirty hand processes over as long as eight months.

Worn, these are frames for the long run. A tortoise Lord or an inky Greenwich carries a summer on the Peninsula, a northern winter and years of travel with equal ease, then grows more yours the more you reach for it. Good eyewear is one of the few things you wear every day of your life, so it is worth owning a pair with a point of view.

Emma Phillips · Founder and Creative Director

The Label

Oliver Goldsmith, in short

Who is Oliver Goldsmith?

Oliver Goldsmith is a British eyewear house founded in London in 1926 by Philip Oliver Goldsmith. It is credited with turning spectacles into a fashion accessory rather than a medical necessity and now runs under the founder's great-granddaughter Claire Goldsmith, who revived the label in 2006.

What is Oliver Goldsmith known for?

Oliver Goldsmith is known for handmade acetate sunglasses reissued from its own archive and for the frames it made for Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Michael Caine and Princess Diana. The Manhattan design worn by Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's is among its most famous shapes.

Where can you buy Oliver Goldsmith in Australia?

You can buy Oliver Goldsmith in Australia at Amelie & Frank's. We offer it online with complimentary shipping Australia-wide and in person at our boutique in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula.

Questions, answered

Did Princess Diana wear Oliver Goldsmith?

Yes. In 1982 the house was appointed official supplier of sunglasses to Diana, Princess of Wales. Her frame was the Berwick, worn in white, and the Victoria and Albert Museum holds a vintage pair in its fashion archive. Prince Charles wore the Carl.

How are Oliver Goldsmith frames made?

Cut from Mazzucchelli acetate and worked through around thirty hand processes over as long as eight months. The house has designed and made its own frames since 1926.

Who else has worn Oliver Goldsmith?

Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Michael Caine, Peter Sellers, John Lennon and Diana Dors. The Manhattan is the frame Hepburn wears in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Are the shapes original?

Yes. Claire Goldsmith, the founder's great-granddaughter, took the house on in 2006 and reissues shapes from its own archive.

Where can you buy Oliver Goldsmith in Australia?

At Amelie & Frank's, online and in person at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula. Very few Australian stockists carry the house.