I have been posting reviews of some astonishingly good rep glasses in the Aliexpress thread. These are getting too long now, and completely buried in the fast paced threads. So here's a compendium of my reviews on rep sunglasses.
I just got one pair of Oliver Peoples NDG in, and one New Wayfarer. These were all shot in my new softbox and lighting rig, I'm not 100% used to it yet, so these shots aren't perfect.
First up are the NDG. Now I had slightly low expectations with these. They cost about 50 dollars, where my gens cost me around 450 with tax. I figured I'd give them a shot since I love the style so much.
The product packaging on this was actually quite good. The outer box is like gen, and the case is almost better than gen. It's covered in a very nice, buttery leather. It closes and stays shut using magnets, also same as gen. Feels extremely sturdy, very nice.
Now onto the shades themselves. The look of these is outstanding, they are actually quite well done. Fit and finish is good. No sharp edges, no tooling marks, and a good polish. Where these fall flat is weight. These are quite a bit lighter than gen, 22.5 grams vs 35.5 grams. This is mostly due to the lighter, more flexible polycarbonate used for the frame material, and the rep haves polycarb lenses, vs the gens glass. The polarized plastic lens in the rep are very clear, as good as gen, and polarizes well. Even though the reps are light, they still feel rock solid, and fit well.
The hinges on this are of high quality, and are finished well. They open and close tightly, but smoothly. All marking on the frame look good, sharp, if only a bit too bold. The Oliver Peoples logo on the end of the arm is off, too small, not detailed enough. It isn't horrendous, but noticeable in a side by side comparison.
Now this is a side by side of my gen, and the rep. if it isn't obvious, matte black is gen, brown is rep. I've had the black NDG for a while now, so they aren't pristine.
When sitting side by side, you can tell that the frame shaping is spot on with the rep. They are no glaring tells from the shape. The biggest tells would be the dots from the frames skeleton. These are too big on the rep, and not finished as well as the gen. On the gen they are perfectly leveled with the frame. On the arms, the dots are way off from gen, but only noticeable in a comparison like this.
Comparing the printing on the inside of the arms, you can see some big differences. Good thing this part is never noticeable when you're wearing them.
The logos on the end of the arms are very different between rep and gen. On the gen, it's very 3D, and you can see the logo go into the frames themselves. On the rep, it's too small, too flat, but better than I had expected from them.
The last tell would be the visible skeleton in the arm. The fact the rep has it, is good, but it's waaaaay off. Since my gen are black, I've pulled an image off the web to compare for you.
The gen has the Oliver Peoples logo, beautifully engraved into the skeleton. In person, it's stunning. The rep has a generic metal skeleton. While it's still strong, it doesn't have any engravings.
In conclusion, this is a great pair of glasses for the price. They feel good, and look even better. There are some flaws here and there, but nothing deal breaking. BUT if you have the money, go gen. They feel a lot better in hand, and on your face. Plus, the lenses on gen Oliver Peoples are superb. Worth getting the real deal just for that.
I just got one pair of Oliver Peoples NDG in, and one New Wayfarer. These were all shot in my new softbox and lighting rig, I'm not 100% used to it yet, so these shots aren't perfect.
First up are the NDG. Now I had slightly low expectations with these. They cost about 50 dollars, where my gens cost me around 450 with tax. I figured I'd give them a shot since I love the style so much.
The product packaging on this was actually quite good. The outer box is like gen, and the case is almost better than gen. It's covered in a very nice, buttery leather. It closes and stays shut using magnets, also same as gen. Feels extremely sturdy, very nice.
Now onto the shades themselves. The look of these is outstanding, they are actually quite well done. Fit and finish is good. No sharp edges, no tooling marks, and a good polish. Where these fall flat is weight. These are quite a bit lighter than gen, 22.5 grams vs 35.5 grams. This is mostly due to the lighter, more flexible polycarbonate used for the frame material, and the rep haves polycarb lenses, vs the gens glass. The polarized plastic lens in the rep are very clear, as good as gen, and polarizes well. Even though the reps are light, they still feel rock solid, and fit well.
The hinges on this are of high quality, and are finished well. They open and close tightly, but smoothly. All marking on the frame look good, sharp, if only a bit too bold. The Oliver Peoples logo on the end of the arm is off, too small, not detailed enough. It isn't horrendous, but noticeable in a side by side comparison.
Now this is a side by side of my gen, and the rep. if it isn't obvious, matte black is gen, brown is rep. I've had the black NDG for a while now, so they aren't pristine.
When sitting side by side, you can tell that the frame shaping is spot on with the rep. They are no glaring tells from the shape. The biggest tells would be the dots from the frames skeleton. These are too big on the rep, and not finished as well as the gen. On the gen they are perfectly leveled with the frame. On the arms, the dots are way off from gen, but only noticeable in a comparison like this.
Comparing the printing on the inside of the arms, you can see some big differences. Good thing this part is never noticeable when you're wearing them.
The logos on the end of the arms are very different between rep and gen. On the gen, it's very 3D, and you can see the logo go into the frames themselves. On the rep, it's too small, too flat, but better than I had expected from them.
The last tell would be the visible skeleton in the arm. The fact the rep has it, is good, but it's waaaaay off. Since my gen are black, I've pulled an image off the web to compare for you.
The gen has the Oliver Peoples logo, beautifully engraved into the skeleton. In person, it's stunning. The rep has a generic metal skeleton. While it's still strong, it doesn't have any engravings.
In conclusion, this is a great pair of glasses for the price. They feel good, and look even better. There are some flaws here and there, but nothing deal breaking. BUT if you have the money, go gen. They feel a lot better in hand, and on your face. Plus, the lenses on gen Oliver Peoples are superb. Worth getting the real deal just for that.
