Need help from Oliver Peoples Experts

yywwyy · Dec 31, 2011

I'm looking to buy a Oliver Peoples "Riley-R" glasses on-line. I've tried them on, and I know I want the Cocobolo in size 45mm.
So far i've found differing model numbers and originating countries:

Riley-R COCOBOLO
OT1003 (?)
OT1004 (Made in Japan, for sure.)
OV5004 (Made in Italy?)

My questions:
1)What do these codes mean? Should I pay any attention to them?
2)If I have the choice between made in italy vs made in japan, which OP frame should I go with?
3)Buying on Ebay-- is it safe with the usual precautions?

Thanks & I will appreciate your input!

chiamdream · Dec 31, 2011

I've bought OP frames via eBay twice (both Rileys, actually) and had no problems. I don't think you have to worry too much about fakes with any major mover of OPs.

FWIW, every pair of OPs I've had (five or so) has been made in Japan.

ismelllikepoop · Jan 1, 2012

The rileys I saw at a dealer recently was made in italy. Not sure what the trend is since the sunglasses range seems to be a mix of made in italy and made in japan. I got a set of denison's which are from italy, all the eyeglass frames that were all acetate were made in italy whereas the ones with titanium or metal parts were made in japan. Unless the seller is known for op, there seem to be a good amount of fakes. Weird that half the ads on ebay etc say "made in japan" when you can clearly see the temple saying italy. Do you not have any type of vision insurance? Mine ended up only costing 132 after insurance which is much cheaper than any ebay seller i've seen.

yywwyy · Jan 1, 2012

With more research, I think the more recently made frames are from Italy. I'm just worried about the slim chance that the ones from Italy are inferior in quality. I will be getting the expensive 1.74 high-index lenses put in them, so I'm perhaps being excessively careful. Anybody have experience with such lenses? Would they still be thin for -5.0?

I have the enhanced-type VBA insurance. I think that was the best offered by my workplace, although I had the choice of Davis (standard and enhanced). I'm not really sure how much my insurance will cover for the frame-- I'm expecting 60~80 (but I'll have to make sure by calling VBA when they open tomorrow) so ebay or amazon would be the better source financially. Speaking of which, the frame from a optics seller on amazon is made in italy.

Thanks for your help so far. I'll be waiting until mid-week before making a decision.

stevent · Jan 1, 2012

I have a pair of OP and a pair of Barton Pereira both made in Japan and quality is unbeatable. I'd say you should be fine with Italy, Japan costs were probably getting too high for production.

aaaeeeiiiooouuu · Jan 1, 2012

all OPs used to be made in japan , up until just a few years ago

now there are two lines: regular oliver peoples, which are made in italy, and 'oliver peoples vintage' which are made in japan. the OPV might be harder to come by, and they seem to be a little more expensive. ive handled OPV at the store, and they seem to merely have more extravagant detailing (eg, metal nosebridge with tooled carving; metal earpieces), and they all seem to be riffs on the classic circular design that OP is known for.

i myself own a pair of MIJ OPs ('emerson' which is a variation on OP's signature circular design) and the detailing and design is impeccable, but no moreso than the made in italy ones i've looked at at the store. i'm sure someone will claim that the MIJ acetate or construction is superior of whatever, but there really doesn't seem to be a substantive difference between the MIJ and made in italy models

yywwyy · Jan 1, 2012

Great. Thanks alot for the info.

Looks like I should be fine buying MII from ebay. Can anyone help me choose the best seller (least likely to sell fakes)? I'm looking for the OP Riley size 45 in cocobolo. There's only a few but the price ranges from 185~299. What do your senses tell you about the seller/product?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...oliver+people+riley&_sacat=See-All-Categories

aaaeeeiiiooouuu · Jan 1, 2012

all OPs (at least modern models) have the following, or most of the following:

- OP logo at end of left earpiece. i think this would be hard as **** to replicate, so if the seller posts a good photo of this, they're probably genuine. it's basically a little window in the plastic of the earpiece that houses a tiny metal cast of the OP logo (circular frames/triangular frames/square frames). i say this would be hard to replicate b/c it seems simply hard to manufacture it properly unless you have the proper machinery. the logo catches the light in such a way that reveals the logo as an actual metal cast of the logo, not merely a print or stamp. the logo is surrounded by little gold flourishes, and is NOT physically raised from the earpiece itself - the entire design is set WITHIN the window on the earpiece

- OP earpieces consist of plastic around metal (ie, you can see through the plastic of the frame and see its metal skeleton). the metal part has the OP logo over and over again. like the earpiece logo, this would simply be hard to replicate, so they're probably genuine if they have this.

- inner side of right earpiece, at end, will say "Made in Japan" for older models and "Hand Made in Italy" for newer models

- inner side of left earpiece, at end, will say CE on all models

then there are a lot of other indicators that are harder to describe, but if you post specific photos, it'll be easy to tell. i've handled so many OPs over the years that i'll easily be able to spot a genuine pair.

also, if a seller only posts stock photos of the glasses, i wouldn't go w/ that seller

yywwyy · Jan 1, 2012

WIth the current listing photos, that leaves me with like one seller who put up non-stock photos. However, I will message other sellers and obtain more pics-- If I have doubts, i'll post them. Thanks!

stevent · Jan 1, 2012

If you are not in a rush, Gilt has OP every once in a while, maybe not your specific model but the prices are usually pretty good

aaaeeeiiiooouuu · Jan 2, 2012

stevent said:
If you are not in a rush, Gilt has OP every once in a while, maybe not your specific model but the prices are usually pretty good

the gilt OP sales never (at least since 2008) have any of the circular frames w/ the keyhole nosebridge

Linares · Jul 22, 2014

Can anybody can help me to verify the authenticity of this one? I just bouth it at Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331242582205?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Thanks

Tsujigiri · Jul 24, 2014

Linares said:
Can anybody can help me to verify the authenticity of this one? I just bouth it at Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331242582205?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Thanks

It looks about right; the soldering on the frame is clean and trim. But the lenses aren't original as stated in the listing, which to me is a big part of the product. OP makes some plastic lenses that aren't great, but the VFX glass ones that come on the Benedict are excellent. And they have a fog mark that shows up if you breath on them to verify authenticity.

mims19 · Jan 14, 2015

edited - sorry!

mims19 · Jan 14, 2015

Tsujigiri said:
It looks about right; the soldering on the frame is clean and trim. But the lenses aren't original as stated in the listing, which to me is a big part of the product. OP makes some plastic lenses that aren't great, but the VFX glass ones that come on the Benedict are excellent. And they have a fog mark that shows up if you breath on them to verify authenticity.

aaaeeeiiiooouuu said:
all OPs (at least modern models) have the following, or most of the following:

- OP logo at end of left earpiece. i think this would be hard as **** to replicate, so if the seller posts a good photo of this, they're probably genuine. it's basically a little window in the plastic of the earpiece that houses a tiny metal cast of the OP logo (circular frames/triangular frames/square frames). i say this would be hard to replicate b/c it seems simply hard to manufacture it properly unless you have the proper machinery. the logo catches the light in such a way that reveals the logo as an actual metal cast of the logo, not merely a print or stamp. the logo is surrounded by little gold flourishes, and is NOT physically raised from the earpiece itself - the entire design is set WITHIN the window on the earpiece

- OP earpieces consist of plastic around metal (ie, you can see through the plastic of the frame and see its metal skeleton). the metal part has the OP logo over and over again. like the earpiece logo, this would simply be hard to replicate, so they're probably genuine if they have this.

- inner side of right earpiece, at end, will say "Made in Japan" for older models and "Hand Made in Italy" for newer models

- inner side of left earpiece, at end, will say CE on all models

then there are a lot of other indicators that are harder to describe, but if you post specific photos, it'll be easy to tell. i've handled so many OPs over the years that i'll easily be able to spot a genuine pair.

also, if a seller only posts stock photos of the glasses, i wouldn't go w/ that seller

Hi experts! Could you please help me verify that these sunglasses are authentic. I purchased them via ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121542540175?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT . Seller has great feedback and also provided the detailed photos listed above in a previous comment. However, the item I received isn't the one pictured so I want to be sure they are authentic. Attached are photos of the item I received.

Here are some details I checked: The inlaid insignia is there with a gold detail. Although it is not raised I can feel the outline of the 'window' (design in which insignia is shown) and there is an outline on the frame arm as well. On the right inside arm is the 'Hand crafted in Italy,' followed by L and CE. These however do not seem very 'white' - almost worn off or faint - which does not bother me but may assist in the verification process. The details on the left arm include the style name - Alisha - and its measurements.

I checked stock photos online and everything seems to match but it's hard to tell if the stock photos are the true images or slightly changed to avoid counterfeits.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give!

Need help from Oliver Peoples Experts

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