Cubitts

Making spectacles you want to wear, not ones you put up with. Handmade in their factory in England. Italian acetate, riveted hinge inspired by Lewis Cubitt. Accessible pricing for handmade. B Corp certified.

Cubitts was born in 2012 in King's Cross, London, founded by Tom Broughton. The name comes from the Cubitt brothers, Victorian builders who shaped the neighborhood. The starting idea is crystal clear: quality glasses in England were either ugly and cheap, or overpriced and pretentious. Broughton wanted a smart middle ground.

The brand started with a tiny workshop and a handful of designs. Each frame is Italian acetate, hand-assembled with a rivet system borrowed from Lewis Cubitt's architecture. The detail is lovely and functional. Shapes are inspired by London's topography - each model named after a neighborhood.

What is remarkable is maintaining manufacturing in England. Cubitts took over a historic English spectacle factory and produces on-site. In a market where 80% of the world's eyewear comes out of the same Italian and Chinese factories, that is a real choice. The bespoke service allows custom-made frames to individual measurements.

The brand grew quickly - a dozen shops in London and beyond, B Corp certification, surprisingly reasonable pricing for British handmade. Design is sober, graphic, sometimes a touch austere. No logos, no bling. These are exactly the kind of glasses a cultured Londoner would wear without thinking about it.

The minor reservation: on some entry-level models, finishing is decent without being exceptional. But the quality-price-provenance ratio is hard to beat in independent eyewear.