5 Minutes with: Linda Farrow creative director Simon Jablon

Luxury eyewear brand Linda Farrow just launched a limited edition capsule collection at Lane Crawford. The series includes three limited edition sunnies adorned in 18ct gold and diamonds. We caught up with Linda Farrow's creative director Simon Jablon on the cutting-edge designs. 

What motivated you to create 18ct gold sunglasses? 

SJ: Keep pushing the boundaries is one of the important mantras of Linda Farrow. Gold and diamonds are really some of the most precious materials. We've used 300,000-year-old mammoth tusk in our designs previously. For me I wanted to do something super exclusive. We've always used precious titanium and our lenses were gold-plated in our regular collections. So expanding into fine jewellery ... is a natural progression. 

What are the challenges in producing gold sunnies?

SJ: Each [pair] is made individually. There's an element of machine set up for production but also a lot of hand-polishing and hand-crafting involved in the gold frames. The time and craftsmanship that goes into each and every pair is on a whole new level. Also, we want to highlight the functionality aspect of the product. The reason why we used titanium in our regular collection is because it's a strong resistant material and lightweight. Gold is a very heavy material. What we do is we weave the gold threads and we create rimless/lightweight frames. 

How can you benefit from the growing eyewear market in China? 

SJ: China is a burgeoning market [for eyewear]. I think there has been a rush for brands to go all over China before and now they are opening stores. It's because they have been overly aggressive. China's potential is beyond massive. I feel it will be the luxury powerhouse of the world in the next 100 years. It takes time to educate the consumers.