When we design a frame at Augussto, nothing is left to chance, not even the first second you touch it. The temperature of the front, the balance on the bridge, the soft give at the temples and every micro-impression starts with the sheet we carve.
We insist on cellulose acetate because we know what happens in the real world when brands cut corners with fast, injection-moulded plastics.
What Is Cellulose Acetate?
Cellulose acetate starts as wood pulp or cotton linters that are purified, mixed with plant-based plasticisers, pressed into dense sheets, and matured for weeks before cutting.
Colour is poured into the material itself, not painted on. When we machine a temple or bevel a lens groove, the pattern continues all the way through. If a customer scratches the surface five years from now, an optician can polish it back to gloss because there is no thin coating to breach.
Just as important, acetate softens gently at around 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. That gives us a wide, forgiving window to fine-tune the bend behind your ears or tighten the bridge pinch. Once cooled, the curve sets like fresh metal work and stays put.
How is Cheap Injection Plastic Made?
Budget frames start as pellets of petroleum-based nylon, TR-90, or polycarbonate. Hot resin is shot into a steel mould, cooled in seconds, then shot down the conveyor. The whole cycle can take under a minute. So, speed is the only goal.
Colour comes later, usually as a spray lacquer or dipped dye. Scrape a countertop or drop the frame on concrete, and the outer layer chips, exposing pale grey plastic underneath.
Adjustments are tricky, too. One or two seconds too long in the heater and the bridge goes limp, two degrees too cool and the temple snaps instead of flexing. That is why opticians sigh when they see certain budget brands come through the door.
Feel, Fit, and Everyday Performance
Frame material is invisible until four o’clock fatigue sets in. That is when acetate and injection plastic part ways for good.
Weight And Balance
Acetate carries its pigment inside the polymer, so no heavy paint layers are needed. The final frame stays feather-light yet sturdy. Injection plastics rely on extra coating to hide the base resin, adding grams where you least want them, at the nose.
Custom Adjustments
Your optician can warm acetate with simple hot water or an air heater, bend the temples, and lock in a personalised fit that survives hundreds of on-off cycles. Injection plastic tolerates only a narrow heat window, exceed it and the surface blisters or the temple shears.
Scratch Rescue
A surface scuff on acetate is polishable because colour runs through the core. On moulded plastic, a scratch shows the raw substrate and invites peeling, and no touch-up can restore that factory coat.
Long-Term Durability
With the right hinge and an occasional polish, acetate frames often outlive their first set of lenses. Injection frames grow brittle as UV light and skin oils attack the polymer, so hinges loosen and fronts crack just when you start calling them an old favourite.
Sustainability
A modern acetate block is roughly 60% bio-based, and we now see a lot of bio-acetate formulas that reach 100% renewable content and biodegrade in industrial compost in under six months.
Injection plastics, on the other hand, remain fully petroleum-derived and persist for decades after disposal. When you invest in acetate, you’re not only choosing superior aesthetics, you’re voting for a cleaner supply chain.
Why Augussto Sticks with Acetate
Our brief is simple, to craft frames that feel refined on day one and still look sharp on day one thousand.
Acetate allows us to hand-finish internal edges, embed German rivet hinges without stress marks, and curate layered colour stories that are impossible with spray coats. It takes longer, costs more, and demands skilled hands, but it pays you back every time you open the case.
The Bottom Line
Cheap injection-moulded plastics win on speed and upfront cost. Cellulose acetate wins on everything that matters once the novelty fades, comfort, durability, depth of colour, and environmental footprint.
If eyewear is something you live in, choose the material that keeps pace with a life well-lived. Browse the latest Augussto acetate collection and feel the difference that purpose-built craftsmanship makes.
