Masahiro Maruyama ⭐ Top pick

Each collection is a question: what happens if you break a frame? Twist it? Erase part of it? Repair it with gold? 13 collections, 13 answers, all handmade in Fukui. Contemporary art that corrects your vision.

Masahiro Maruyama is a Japanese eyewear designer who launched his eponymous brand in 2011, following a 15-year career in eyewear design. All his frames are manufactured in Fukui Prefecture, the century-old cradle of Japanese eyewear, where over 90% of national production is concentrated.

What distinguishes Maruyama from all other eyewear makers in the world is the concept. Each collection is an idea - not an aesthetic variation on a theme, but a conceptual approach that questions what a pair of glasses can be. The "Broken" collection features frames that appear broken and glued back together, with interrupted lines, shattered angles, and intentional asymmetries. "Twist" contorts acetate into impossible spirals. "Kintsugi" is inspired by the Japanese art of repairing broken objects with gold; the frames feature golden lines at the points of "breakage." "Erase" removes portions of the frame, like a drawing in the process of being erased. "Dessin" transforms metal into pencil strokes.

This is contemporary art worn on the face. This represents Maruyama's fundamental tension: frames that resemble sculptures but must also be wearable daily. The compromise is remarkable; the "Broken" models are surprisingly comfortable and stable despite their fragmented lines.

Manufacturing in Fukui is not incidental. Sabae and its surroundings house eyewear workshops that master acetate cutting, sanding, polishing, and hinge adjustment unlike anywhere else in the world. The acetate is worked in layers, heated, bent, and molded by hand. The hinges are precision mechanisms. Each frame passes through dozens of manual stages. This craftsmanship allows Maruyama to realize shapes that automated factories could not produce.

The current catalog includes over 13 collections: Step, Kintsugi, Sculpt, Monocle, Doodle, Twist, Erase, Broken, Straight, 2Side, Cut, Collage, and Dessin. Each collection has its own visual vocabulary, internal logic, and conceptual constraints. It is closer to an artistic practice than an eyewear business.

Among enthusiasts, one user writes that the Broken collection is of "incredible quality for the price" and that "although a bit expensive, it's worth it." The price positioning, between €400 and €700, sits between classic Japanese premium brands (Matsuda, Rigards) and Parisian luxury (Maison Bonnet). For handmade frames from Fukui with a unique artistic concept, it is justifiable.

Distribution is ultra-selective. A few independent opticians in Japan, Europe, and the United States. No major chains, no duty-free, and no mass e-commerce. Maruyama is found at opticians who view eyewear as a design object rather than a medical device.

Maruyama is one of the few eyewear designers in the world whose frames are collected as art pieces. People buy Broken or Kintsugi frames without prescription lenses, simply for the object itself. This is the highest compliment one can pay to an eyewear maker.