Brenner Collection

How exclusivity is born

RAINER BRENNER eyewear is always special. This is partly due to the elaborate production process, that has a lot of hand-made elements. Have a look at the most important steps during the manufacturing process.

Frames from a slab
RAINER BRENNER frames are only made of the best quality cellulose acetate, special-ordered from iconic Italian manufacturer Mazzucchelli. The raw material comes in 1 cm thick slabs, which are chosen individually, for their pattern determines the frames’ final look.

Cutting the blanks
During the first step, the blanks are milled from the high-end synthetic material with a CNC machine, precisely to the thousandth of a millimeter. At this point, the final shape of the frame is already clearly discernible.

Pre-milling the nose bridge
Nose bridges are milled by hand, using no template – it’s a job that requires a lot of experience. The bridge’s shape is imperative for the optimal fit of the spectacles, particularly if made individually for a certain wearer.

Crawl out
Using a plate milling cutter, the middle part is cut to the desired width – a process we call Ausholen. Depending on the design of the frames, different amounts of material have to be removed – on more delicate models, sometimes merely 2,5 mm remain.

Frames in bain-marie
The frames are heated in a bain-marie for optimal shaping. Using a template, they receive the desired flexure, which is imperative for the final look, as well as the wearer’s comfort.

Honing the nose bridge
The nose bridge is hand-honed to its final shape. Up to 10 files with various grades of coarseness are used to guarantee perfect wearing comfort.

Drilling for hinges
Drilling holes for the hinges is also exclusively done by hand. Apart from the precise positioning, there’s the depth to consider, therefore a lot of experience and a good eye are required to ensure that the hinges will fit perfectly later on.

Positioning the hinges
First, the hinges are warmed with ultrasound, then fit at high pressure. If positioned exactly, the golden hinges guarantee wiggle-free wearing comfort as well as flawless opening and closing.

Lamination
First, the temples are laminated to desired width, then the hinges‘ counterparts are heated to 300°C and positioned into the middle of the temple.

Shapes of temples
The upper and lower parts of the temples are milled to the desired size. The counterparts have to be positioned to absolute precision, so both elements of the hinges will fit perfectly later on.

Beechwood polish
Temples and bridges are honed and polished in large tubs filled with beech wood shavings (chips). After 4 rounds with differently sized shavings (chips) and a good 96 hours of perpetual motion, they have quite the shine already.

Fitted temples polished
Temples and bridges are fitted to precision. The temples must be fixed to the bridge at the perfect angle for the spectacles to fit flawlessly later on, and make sure all parts come together to create a harmonic whole.

Finishing
The look of the frames determines the degree of finishing needed. For a brilliantly shiny high-gloss style, the surface is polished and finished in several steps, a satin finish is achieved by sand blasting.

Engraving + lining
Now it is time to add the RAINER BRENNER logo. It isn’t simply printed or stamped on, but delicately milled into the surface, then lined with a special type of wax.

Adjusting the temples
In order to achieve the perfect fit for the temples, they are re-heated and bent to the desired shape. Now the original RAINER BRENNER spectacles are finished – there’s only the final fine-tuning at Goethestraße 24 left to do.

More about the Rainer Brenner Collection

How exclusivity is born

Charlott

Rainer Brenner

Charlie & George