Juliet - shades with attitude! (Oakley Juliet)

Member Name: ChrisEdu

Product:	Oakley Juliet
Date:	06/02/04 (2898 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great lenses, great frames, price

Disadvantages: price

Just got a pair of Oakley Juliet X-Metal sunglasses to replace some A-wire glasses that were stolen whilst visiting my local Mercedes garage. After much research in shops, and time on the internet, I eventually found them online at a UK Oakley dealer for £227 - pretty good considering the RRP of £275.

After waiting about three days, the glasses finally arrived, just in time for the rain and snow! My initial reaction to the glasses was, "Wow! What a big box." The box they come in is far larger than that of my old A-wires. It also looks much cooler, complete with a nice perferated look and the X-Metal 'coin' showing through the middle of the box. Removing the coin, to have a better look at it, is a bit tricky. I was amazed at the weight of the thing. I'm not sure if it is made from the same stuff that the frames are hewn from, but it makes a nice weighty novelty, of absolutely no benefit to the protection of your eyes!

Lifting the flap of the box, which likes to fall back down again due to the weighty lump of metal attached to it, I pulled out the usual Oakley paperwork (warranty card and registration card) to reveal the large black cloth bag housing the glasses. The bag is designed to keep the glasses clean and should be employed for polishing the lenses. However, you might want to invest the £30 - £40 needed to get the appropriate vault for them, just to make sure they don't get squashed!

Removing the glasses from the bag, my intial reaction was, "Cool!" They look like something out of a sci-fi movie, which is appropriate considering they were used in X-Men! Due to the curve of the arms, the glasses have a large 'footprint', which explains the size of the packaging associated with them. I was instantly struck by the colour of the Ice Blue Polarised lenses, they look fantastic, not as flash as the Ruby or Fire coloured lenses, but quietly understated and business like. The plasma frame colour (sor
t of a matt aluminium colour) goes really well with this choice of lens.

Unfolding the arms, I noticed how stiff they are; not much chance of these coming loose and falling from your head. Placing the glasses on your head is a bit different to those glasses with straight arms, due to the curve that these have. I find that I have to pull them slightly apart before placing them upon myself. Once on, I was pleased by the quality of the lenses. My view was crystal clear, with definition being excellent and colours easy to recognise. I also noticed how natural they feel upon the head, and how they don't seem to convey their weight. For these are quite weighty shades, yet you really don't notice it once you have them on. The metal in the frame seems to be incredibly strong, I tried to bend one of the arms, but found it was very tough, although they can be bent where the frame slims down for the earsocks to fit on.

Also included in the box was a collection of spare rubber bits, for making alterations to the fit of the frame. The rubbers in the temple region are easy to remove, and the spare rubbers are slightly thicker than the ones that the glasses came fitted with. TRhis made the fit of the frames a bit tighter. The rubbers on the nose section were much more tricky to remove, as I eventually found out that they kind of hook under some protuberances, rather than just pushing on. This time the spares were slightly thinner than the ones already fitted, ideal for those in the boxing community!

With the degree of customisation afforded by these glasses, you should easily be able to make them fit comfortably, unless you have one of those heads that don't fit to the general anthropometrical norms.

One thing that I was slightly puzzled by, was the small hole that I noticed in the top of the frame. The hole, about the size of a pin prick, is apparently normal, according to Oakley, and is a feature of the production process, which ca
n cause some bubbles of oxygen to pop through the cooling metalwork. I was informed by Oakley that these glasses are all individually made, therefore, no two pairs will be exactly the same. I think this is kinda cool, as it means that you are wearing a unique product, although, of course, this could just be some PR bull!

Overall, I am very happy with the Juliet X-Metal sunglasses. They are a substanial set of shades that certainly give the impression that they will be able to protect my eyes from frying for a good many years, or at least until another bastard nicks them! If you want to be unique and wear something that is a bit different, and you can justify, or afford, the price, go for it, you'd be hard pressed to be disappointed.

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