Alba Optics
Handmade Italian sports sunglasses
Est. 2017Milan, Italy
Alba Optics makes its sports sunglasses by hand in Italy, starting with the Delta: a 1980s Italian frame brought back with modern materials and Alba’s own VZUM lenses.
Explore Alba Optics
| Sunglasses | The idea | Weight | Lens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | The original: a 1980s shield with a vented lens and arched temple tips | 26 g | Interchangeable |
| Mantra | A one-piece frame with arms that don’t fold | 24 g | Interchangeable |
| Jumbo | A three-vent shield with temple tips that adjust to four lengths | 26 g | Interchangeable |
| ANVMA V2 | An everyday frame with a sporty edge | 24 g | Prescription-ready |
Alba is Italian for dawn, and Alba Optics began with a search for an old mold: a sunglasses frame designed and made in Italy in the 1980s, which founders Piergiorgio and Luca brought back to life with new technology. That frame became the Delta, and every Alba since has been made by hand in Italy too.
The lenses are Alba’s own, called VZUM: light, tough polycarbonate with full UV protection and a coating that shrugs off scratches, smudges and water. On the Delta, Mantra and Jumbo the lens is interchangeable.
Alba’s photochromic F-Lens darkens and clears with the light, from a category 1 tint to a category 3, which suits a ride that starts before sunrise and ends in full sun.
Alba designs, develops and makes its sunglasses in Italy, in a factory north of Milan. The founders say the aim isn’t to finish first but to get wherever you want to go, in any conditions, and the range runs from race-day shields to a frame for every day.
Every VZUM lens blocks 100% of UV. The tints are chosen to lift colour and contrast, and a shield coating resists impact, scratches, fingerprints and water. The F-Lenses are photochromic, with the light-reactive molecules set into the lens itself, and they keep working on a cloudy day.
| Lens | What it does | Light |
|---|---|---|
| F-Lens BTL | Photochromic. Slightly yellow when clear, a green-blue mirror when dark | Changing light |
| F-Lens FLM | Photochromic. Pink when clear, a blue mirror when dark | Changing light |
| F-Lens Fire | Photochromic. A red mirror when dark | Changing light |
| F-Lens Classic | Photochromic. Neutral when clear, dark grey when dark | Changing light |
| F-Lens Rocket | Photochromic, for the ANVMA | Changing light |
| Alu | A mirrored sun lens for strong light | Bright days |
| Polar | Polarised and high-contrast, to cut glare | Bright days and glare |
