Oakley X-Metal Romeo 2.0 Polished/Black

By the mid-90s Oakley had established themselves as an industry leader of innovative eyewear but founder Jim Jannard believed it was time to develop what would be known as the ultimate sunglasses, setting Oakley aside from all competitors. This is the concept that birthed X-Metal, a special Titanium alloy that would become the foundation of Oakley’s most sought-after line of frames. Jim Jannard stated in an interview with O-Forum: “I was a big fan of titanium and no one had done Ti eyewear. I thought that combining Ti with sculpture would be a really great thing. There were no factories doing what we wanted so we bought a golf club casting company in Nevada and converted it to manufacturing Ti eyewear. We were told by many that what we wanted to do was impossible. The idea of casting long and narrow parts (like the ear stems) was next to impossible. We ignored the warnings”.

The X-Metal line was announced in 1996 and launched in 1997 with the iconic ‘Romeo’, which Oakley described as an “evolutionary application of a new metallurgical process and a breakthrough in structural physics”. They were the strongest sunglasses ever made, built to withstand the weight of a car without any damage. The Romeo was succeeded by the Mars and Juliet in the following years, experimenting with different lens shapes that proved to be just as popular, leading to the development of several other frames in the 2000s. The XX came later, blending the hammerstems of the Romeo with a larger Juliet lens. Oakley reworked the design of the Romeo in 2004 and produced the Romeo 2.0, featuring open-edge architecture that reduced the weight by 20%. Comfort was maximized by ultra-lightweight titanium alloys, liquefied with half a million watts of plasma lightning then sculptured by five-axis Computer Numeric Control with precision.

Frames - Great condition with minor signs of wear - nosebridge restored with minor flex to allow for a more comfortable fit on the face.

Lenses - Great condition with minor signs of wear.

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