Even at a reception for his eyewear, Henrik Lindberg took a back seat to the local stars preening for pictures. But the Danish label has always been subtle, even though it was the first to use titanium in its frames and has won lots of design prizes. The founder, whose dad came up with the titanium idea, was at Puyi Optical at 1881 Heritage on Wednesday to launch the pricey Precious collection, made from gold, diamonds, platinum and buffalo horn - but devoid of blingy tackiness.
'Scandinavian design is kind of opposite to Chinese design,' Lindberg said. 'Traditional Chinese has lots of symbols. We come with a clean-cut look. Basically Lindberg keeps it light. We use non-allergic material and it's very strong and flexible. Plus, we never use a screw in our frames. They always fall out.'
Some people who spend up to HK$350,000 on a pair of glasses want the money to be seen, but Lindberg, an architect, prefers more discreet luxury and craftsmanship. 'Some of them look like bridge construction rather than glasses. It spoils the face,' he said of some ornate designer frames. 'We put raw diamonds into the frame, pink diamonds, black gold, and it's just part of the story. Not everyone will know it but the wearer will know.'
Of course, Lindberg also has eyewear with a much more reasonable price tag if you prefer to keep your diamonds and gold around your neck instead.
