Original Ray Ban Wayfarers

[ameyers6]

I was just curious i own a pair or wayfarers that i bought this year also own aviators bought this year..
did the original wayfarers from the 80's and before that have logos on them like the ones today do
referring to the name on the lens and the arms
if they didnt why did the original ones not have the visible logos?

also post pics of your wayfarers if you like

 

[ameyers6]

anyone

 

[oldpreppyguy]

Actually there were a couple of different versions of the Bausch & Lomb Ray-Ban Wayfarer (made in U.S.A.) available in the '80s, only one of which had the logo on the temple if I correctly recall. The "classic" B&L model, which I believe is best "reproduced" by the current Luxottica (Made in Italy) Ray-Ban Wayfarer model 5024, did not have the logo on the temple. A smaller (lens size) version did have the logo on the temple. I went through a few pairs of B&L Wayfarers during the mid '80s to early '90s and still actually have one pair that survived! As for the printed logo on the lens, it was hit or miss. Some had it while others did not. It was/is also very easy to remove.

 

[miketcooper]

I own a variety of Bausch and Lomb (pre luxotica) wayfarers. The models pre mid-1980s all have a strong forward lean and no Ray Ban logo anywhere but on the inside arms. On the outside, where the new wayfarers have the RayBan logo, the old models had only the metal retaining pin showing through.

In the mid 80s as wayfarers bacame trendy there was a very large number of models produced (wayfarer 2, wayfarer sport, olympic editions, folding etc) and some of them had the Ray Ban writing on the side.

The easiest way to tell the old apart from the new is the shape (the old had forward leaning frames, though Luxotica are now making the old style models again), the Bausch & Lomb logos instead of Luxotica and BL etched into each lense. The old models are also heavier and the material is somewhat different (not as plastiky and flexible as the new items).