I got an email from reader Jimmy Poulsen. He is nearsighted, and now he had decided to upgrade his glasses. He would go downtown Copenhagen to place an order with Cold & Heggem.
Would I like to join? Yes, I would, thank you.
Cold & Heggem makes bespoke glasses only. It was started by Rasmus Cold in 2004. Today he runs the company with his girlfriend. Rasmus Cold makes glasses in horn frames and wooden frames. What is best is a matter of taste, but you have to remember to oil periodically if the frame is wood, Rasmus Cold told.
More choices are a matter of taste as well. I tried to obtain some rules of thumb and guidelines from Rasmus Cold, but he declined. You cannot say that a square face must have round glasses and a round face square glasses. Or vice versa. It is a personal choice, Rasmus Cold made clear.
Nor can we say that the frame color should reflect hair or complexion. Jimmy is, as seen, a red type, but it does not necessarily mean that the frame should be cognac coloured, or that it should contrast in dark brown or black. It is, indeed, a matter of taste, Rasmus Cold stressed.
Jimmy chose a horn frame in cognac.
Then he had his face measured. Rasmus Cold began with the bridge of the nose, and Jimmy tried a few different glasses.
Rasmus Cold then presented a couple of tools, which looked like something from the surgery cabinet of curiosities, but they are quite gentle. They measure the width of the eyes and head, and the distance to the ears. Rasmus Cold traces the exact distance between the pupils too.
When everything has been noted, Rasmus Cold will often begin by making a frame in cardboard. In Jimmy’s case, he did not find it not necessary. He had discussed the glasses quite a bit with Jimmy in advance, and Jimmy’s face is not very difficult to fit, according to Rasmus Cold.
Now I’m waiting for the result. I will, of course, be there with the camera.
Source: The Journal of Style