The Artisans of the Dolomites

The Dolomites, in the foothills of northern Italy, have made small goods by hand for three hundred years. They now make some of the finest eyewear in the world.

A valley of makers

Fewer than forty workshops remain. Each is a family business, each with a master who knows the material by touch. We work with three of them.

What they teach us

That the difference between good and great is invisible: the way a temple tapers, the polish on a bridge, the tension of a pad that sits exactly right.