SALE Small Antique Eyeglasses Gold Filled Rims Cable Temple Vintage Frames 4

Up for this buy it now auction is this pair of general beautiful antique gold filled riding temple eyeglass frames. oval glass with bifocal. they are approximately 100 years old and show some signs of use / wear and tear but would still make a great pair. need cleaned /polished they are ready for your prescription lenses and for everyday use. condition good - bifocal lens - need cleaned size frame width: 4 inches lens size: 40x35mm bridge: 20mm marked: 1/10 - 12k this is a small vintage size. style oval riding temple eyeglasses were common from the late 18th century until after the first world war. nose pads hadn't yet been invented so the nose bridge was what's called a saddle bridge, sitting directly on the nose. that caused the eyeglasses to sit very close to the face, limiting the size of the lenses and the frame width. this is why antique eyeglass run small. the temple's were made to curve around the ear so that they wouldn't fall off when riding a horse. they were usually gold or silver colored, sometimes made of solid gold or gold filled. (a heavy plating process where the gold plate is usually 10% of the total weight) with the advent of nose pads in the 1920's, these largely fell out of favor and haven't been manufactured since. throughout the years many of them have been melted down for their scrap gold value, thus they are becoming harder to find. they still remain favorite's by many today who desire the vintage look and are generally associated with intellectuals and academia. pricetronic sales tax policy - check your state here: