Product Code Database
Ray-Ban is an Italy-owned brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is best known for its Ray-Ban Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica for a reported $640 million.
Specifically, Macready was concerned that pilots' goggles would fog up, greatly reducing visibility at high altitude. The prototype, created in 1936 and known as "Anti-Glare", had plastic frames and green lenses that could cut out the glare without obscuring vision. The name "Ray-Ban" was hence derived from the ability of these glasses to limit the ingress of either Ultraviolet or infra-red rays of light. Impact-resistant lenses were added in 1938. The sunglasses were redesigned with a metal frame the following year and patented as the Ray-Ban Aviator. According to the BBC, the glasses used "Kalichrome lenses designed to sharpen details and minimise haze by filtering out blue light, making them ideal for misty conditions."
In 2025, ASAP Rocky was appointed the brand's first-ever creative director.
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In 2007, Luxottica Group launched Ray-Ban Youth, a collection of prescription eyewear aimed at children ages eight through twelve. Modeled after popular adult Ray-Bans styles, these hypoallergenic titanium frames featured both neutral and bold colorways as well as sturdy flex hinges.
In 2009, Luxottica released the Ray-Ban Tech collection, which included the Carbon Fibre line. This line of sunglasses were factory stress-tested and designed to be durable and lightweight, and featured polarized lenses of polycarbonate or crystal.
On the brand's website, Ray-Ban also offers the option to customize and purchase individual pairs of many of their popular styles, giving buyers express choice between frames, lenses, and engraving, among other options.
In 2021, Ray-Ban commercialized a model of smart glasses that they developed with Facebook Reality Labs called Ray-Ban Stories. Building on recent trends of wearable technology, the glasses feature a built-in camera and Bluetooth earphones. Like other wearable, camera-equipped tech, Ray-Ban Stories have come under scrutiny for their susceptibility to privacy issues and potential for misuse.
In 2023, Ray-Ban and Meta Platforms introduced the second-generation smart glasses, called Ray-Ban Meta. These AI-powered glasses include upgraded 12MP cameras, improved audio with five speakers, and a voice-activated assistant called Meta AI. Users can livestream to social media, translate text, and receive real-time information using voice commands. The glasses also offer up to 36 hours of battery life with a redesigned charging case.
Ray-Ban Meta glasses have received both praise for innovation and criticism over privacy concerns, particularly regarding discreet recording capabilities.
Luxottica has taken measures to thwart the trade of counterfeit products, such as converting the India Ray-Ban website from a reference site to a functional e-commerce platform, and pursuing legal action against online retailers that market fake Ray-Ban products. In 2016, Luxottica introduced a "Minimum Advertised Price (MAP)" policy for Ray-Ban in contracts with their wholesale customers. While the policy does not name a specific minimum price point, it forbids the advertisement of Ray-Ban products at extreme discounts, as well as any advertising that could otherwise devalue the products.
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