London Olympics 2012 #3: Tia Hellebaut in Oakley, Mo Farah and Usain Bolt

Our last Olympics post, a week later... EWG was lucky enough to be at the final evening of athletics last Saturday. Obviously, seeing Usain Bolt in the 4x100m men's relay and, in particular, Mo Farah winning the 5000m, was unbelievable, but there aren't many spectacles in track and field. Luckily we spottted Tia Hellebaut, the Belgian high-jumper, on the big screen in her red Oakleys, above, to give us the excuse of sharing a few more photos from the night...

Mykita & Moncler: the best winter sunglasses for 2012?

Sorry for the lack of posts – have been away and then Christmas kind of took over. Trust everyone's had a cracking time and you've received all the goodies you wanted!

Who makes the rescued Chile miners' sunglasses?

The rescued miners from the San José mine in Chile appeared from the depths of the earth wearing Oakley Radar sunglasses, similar to these above.

While I would have much preferred the Chilean miners to have been resuced wearing a stylish Oliver Goldsmith sunglasses or a pair of Dita shades (you'll see from the rest of Eye Wear Glasses, we don't really do sporty), I guess the requirement to stop any light getting in around the sides of the sunglasses always meant it would be a pair of tight-fitting wraparounds, which might usually be worn for running or cycling.

Oakley Radar cost about $180 and you can buy some here...

 

RAEN Optics 2010 sunglasses: Flowers by surfer Alex Knost

RAEN Optics has teamed up with surfer Alex Knost for the first instalment of its 2010 colection.

I love the round shape, the keyhole nose, the transparent colours.

Not available until March 2010...

Lancier sunglasses from Dita Eyewear - gulp!

God! These are brilliant. Lancier makes really, really good lenses, Dita makes incredible frames, there's even a clever interchangable temple thing too, as shown in the video... And look at the bloody packaging, as previewed a few months back. V. limited edition (of course!)

Erlik sunglasses with ridiculously clever hinges

Another highlight fromlast month's Silmo show was Erlik, a Canadian brand started by Alex Masse.

These patented rubber hinges are amazing - a bit like the bendy bit of a bendy bus.

The hinge makes Erlik shades extremely robust and ideal for sport, but clearly the styling pretty switch on too.

More clever hinges here...

Tag Heuer 27 degrees of invisible hinge - a sunglasses design classic

Anyone following a little more than average my optical obsession will have noticed a slight compulsion towards hinges. Mykita has two great hinges, IC! Berlin one, Alain Mikli another (probably more), Face à Face another, Lindberg has a screwless affair and Silhouette has none at all. There are more.

Swiss watch brand Tag Heuer launched its invisible hinge in the early 2000s, with its first eyewear collection, "27 degrees". Unlike those above, its clever hinge is hidden, "invisible" even.

Some kind of mathematical magic means that by cutting the temple at 27 degrees, you cannot see inside it: open, closed or anywhere in-between.

Acclaimed British designer Ross Lovegrove was the man with the 27-degree plan - genius.

Look and learn. The video gives you an idea, but the guy from Sunglassesavantgarde.com underplays the hinge big time.