How to Choose Sunglasses: The Complete Expert Guide

Most people choose sunglasses based on looks, but sunglasses are actually a medical device. Their main job is to protect your eyes, provide clear vision, reduce strain, and fit comfortably enough for daily wear. Unfortunately, most sunglasses on the market today fail at these basic requirements.

In this expert guide, we break down what really matters when choosing sunglasses and how to avoid the common traps that lead to discomfort, poor protection, or frames that simply don’t last.

Why Many Sunglasses Are Poorly Made

Every year, more and more sunglasses brands appear, but many of them are not created by optical experts. They’re started by people wanting to escape their 9–5, not by designers trained in optical engineering.

Unlike in the U.S., where sunglasses require FDA approval before they can enter the country, most countries (including Australia) allow sunglasses to be imported without any testing at all. This means many online brands source cheap frames from factories that:

• don’t meet basic optical standards
• don’t test for UV protection
• use poor-quality injected plastics
• produce lenses that distort vision

The result? Fashion-driven sunglasses that may look good in photos but perform poorly and potentially harm your eyes long-term.

What to Look for When Buying Sunglasses

When choosing sunglasses, ask yourself one question:

“Does this brand have real optical credentials?”

If the brand is a fashion house, were the sunglasses designed by qualified eyewear engineers or simply outsourced? If it’s an individual creator, are they from the eyewear industry? If not, how would they know what makes sunglasses safe, comfortable, and optically correct?

Key factors to look for:

• Proper UV protection with certified testing
• Premium materials such as bio-acetate or Japanese titanium
• Balanced frame engineering for comfort and longevity
• High-quality lenses that don’t distort vision

How AM Eyewear Is Different: We are optical specialists, sunglasses aren’t a side product. Every frame is engineered in-house by experts trained in optical design.

If you’d like to see what this looks like in practice, explore our latest designs in the Current Collection, where every frame is built around protection, comfort and optical performance.

What Makes a Good Pair of Sunglasses?

Price and brand name do not determine quality. Many luxury designers license their fashion logos to large eyewear companies that produce sunglasses using cheap injection moulding for a few dollars per frame.

True quality is found in:

• Italian bio-based acetate or Japanese titanium
• Optical-grade polyamide (nylon) lenses
• Handcrafted construction and small-batch production
• Premium coatings that resist scratches, oil and distortion

How AM Eyewear Is Different:
We use sustainable European materials, 18kt gold-plated hardware and handcraft each frame with the level of detail expected from true luxury eyewear. Luxury isn’t a price tag, it’s the engineering, feel, and long-term performance.

You can compare shapes, materials and fits across our Men’s Sunglasses and Women’s Sunglasses collections to find the right balance of style and optical quality for you.

Who Actually Made the Sunglasses?

If a sunglasses brand exists only online, chances are they’re sourcing premade frames from sites like Alibaba or AliExpress. These frames are:

• not designed by trained optical professionals
• rarely tested for safety or UV protection
• often made with the cheapest materials
• prone to lens distortion and discomfort

Many of these frames fail basic optical safety standards and are not designed for real-world functionality, only aesthetics.

How AM Eyewear Is Different:
We’ve been designing eyewear in-house since 2003. Our founder, trained by an optical engineer, oversees every frame. All sunglasses meet Australian, European and FDA safety standards, and are tested before production. This is not a side hustle, it’s craftsmanship backed by two decades of experience.

To see the designs that helped build our reputation, explore the Cult Collection, home to our most iconic square and flat sunglasses.

Are “Sustainable” Sunglasses Actually Sustainable?

Many brands claim to be sustainable because they use “plant-based acetate.” But here’s the truth:

All acetate is technically plant-based.

The real difference is in how it’s processed. Cheap factories often use harmful chemicals like anhydride or sulfuric acid and dump waste irresponsibly. This isn’t sustainability, it’s greenwashing.

When a brand claims eco-credentials, the question is: Can they prove it?

How AM Eyewear Is Different:

• We use certified sustainable Italian acetate made with green energy
• Our acetate uses plant-based plasticizers instead of petrochemicals
• It’s biodegradable in industrial facilities
• Our lenses, cases and packaging use recycled or natural materials

Sustainability is not a marketing slogan, it’s verified, traceable materials and cleaner production.

Why So Many Sunglasses Look the Same And Still Fit Badly

Most online-only sunglasses brands lack trained eyewear designers. Instead, they choose generic catalogue frames that imitate luxury brands, without the engineering that makes real sunglasses fit properly.

This leads to frames that:

• sit crooked or slide down the nose
• pinch behind the ears
• cause pressure points or headaches
• have incorrect pantoscopic tilt, affecting vision

Fit is everything in eyewear, and bad fit cannot be fixed with “style.”

How AM Eyewear Is Different:

• 23+ years of optical frame design experience
• International design awards and fashion week showcases
• Frames engineered with precision fit, proper tilt and balanced weight
• Nose pads, temples and bridge shapes refined for a wide range of face shapes & ethnicities

Just because a frame looks similar doesn’t mean it performs the same. Optical quality is invisible until it’s missing.

Why Some Sunglasses Brands Always Offer 50% Off

When you see constant discounts like “50% OFF,” “2 for $200,” or “Buy One Get One Free,” it’s usually a red flag. It often means one thing:

The sunglasses cost almost nothing to produce.

Cheap, injection-moulded factory frames, sometimes costing as little as $3, are marked up and sold as “premium eyewear” to unsuspecting shoppers.

Brands that do this typically:

• don’t partner with physical retailers
• don’t provide real warranty support
• can’t validate their materials or sustainability claims
• avoid optical testing or proper certification

How AM Eyewear Is Different:
Our frames are stocked in over 250 Australian retailers and 500 internationally, including high-end optical boutiques that only carry eyewear built to stringent optical standards. These retailers thoroughly test materials, craftsmanship and lens quality; poor frames simply wouldn’t make the cut.

We don’t inflate prices just to fake a discount. We craft premium eyewear the right way, and the quality stands on its own.

Do Some Lenses Protect Better Than Others?

Yes, and the difference is huge.

Many sunglasses on the market use dyed plastic lenses that offer little to no real UV protection. Dark lenses can actually be more dangerous when they lack UV filtration, because your pupils dilate behind them, allowing more harmful rays in.

High-quality sunglasses require:

• accurate UV filtering (UVA & UVB)
• optical-grade materials (not cheap plastic)
• anti-reflective coatings
• scratch-resistant coatings
• hydrophobic coatings to repel oils, makeup and smudges

How AM Eyewear Is Different:
We use premium nylon polyamide lenses that provide:

• 100% UVA & UVB protection
• Gold anti-reflective coating on the back surface
• Scratch-resistant hard coating
• Hydrophobic coating for cleaner, clearer vision
• True-to-life colour and optical clarity

This combination is extremely rare outside of optical-grade eyewear.

The AM Eyewear Difference

Since 2003, every AM Eyewear frame has been designed in-house and brought to life by skilled artisans using the world’s finest materials. We don’t chase trends, cut corners or mass-produce catalogue frames. Instead, we craft eyewear with:

• premium Italian bio-acetate and Japanese titanium
• optical-grade nylon lenses with advanced coatings
• handcrafted construction in small batches
• precision engineering for fit, function and longevity

Whether you shop in our Darlinghurst flagship store, visit one of nearly 1,000 retail partners, or join us online, you’re becoming part of a 20+ year story of craftsmanship, individuality and eyewear made without compromise.

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Explore AM Eyewear Collections

• Current Collection – our newest releases and most refined designs
• Cult Collection – iconic styles that helped define AM Eyewear
• Men’s Sunglasses – optical-engineered comfort and style for every day
• Women’s Sunglasses – premium handcrafted eyewear made to last

Because your eyes deserve more than fashion. They deserve optical excellence.