Ray-Ban is an Italian-owned brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is most notable for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group for a reported $640 million.

History

In 1929, US Army Air Corps Colonel John A. Macready worked with Bausch & Lomb, a Rochester, New York–based medical equipment manufacturer, to create aviation sunglasses that would reduce the distraction for pilots caused by the intense blue and white hues of the sky.

On September 17, 2025, Ray-Ban along with Meta Corporation announced the Meta Ray-Ban Display, their first ever augmented reality glasses.

Product lines

Ray-Ban's most popular sunglasses are the Wayfarer, Erika, and Aviator models.

In 2021, Ray-Ban commercialized a model of smart glasses that they developed with Facebook Reality Labs called Ray-Ban Stories. Like other wearable, camera-equipped tech, Ray-Ban Stories have come under scrutiny for their susceptibility to privacy issues and potential for misuse.

Counterfeits

thumb|right|Ray-Ban store in [[Miami, Florida]]

Like other luxury brands, Ray-Ban has been a notable target for retail counterfeiters. The advertisement of Ray-Bans for unrealistically low prices has been consistently linked to fraudulent websites peddling counterfeit products. Studies have shown that one of every four ads for discounted luxury products on Facebook links users to such sites. Ray-Bans are often involved in international seizures of counterfeit designer goods. For one example, in 2016, law enforcement in Thailand seized an alleged import of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit sunglasses including Ray-Bans and Oakleys (also owned by Luxottica Group). Counterfeiters were said to have applied tags and stickers to the fakes to deceive consumers about their authenticity.

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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File:RayBanAviator.jpg|Ray-Ban 3025 Large Metal Aviator <small>(polarized lenses)</small>

File:Ray-Ban Aviator Shooter RB3139-001 3N (G-15 lenses) Size 62 09 160 Lens base 6.jpg|Ray-Ban 3139 Shooter <small>(G-15 lenses)</small>

File:Ray-Ban W1663 Outdoorsman B-20 Chromax.jpg|Ray-Ban W163 Outdoorsman <small>(B-20 Chromax lenses)</small>

File:B&L Ray-Ban Leathers Outdoorsman II.jpg|Ray-Ban Leathers Outdoorsman II <small>(G-15 lenses)</small>

File:1968 Ray Ban Advertisement.jpg|1968 Ray-Ban Outdoorsman advertisement

File:RayBanWayfarer.jpg|Ray-Ban 2132 901L Wayfarer

File:Ray-Ban Clubmaster 3016.jpg|Ray-Ban 3016 Clubmaster

File:Ray-Ban Round Icons.jpg|Ray-Ban 2447 Round Fleck Icons

File:Ray Ban Glasses.jpg|Ray-Ban 5277 prescription eyeglasses frame

File:Ray-Ban Clubround Sunglasses.jpg|Ray-Ban 4246 Clubround sunglasses in colours of black and gold

</gallery>

See also

  • Gentle Monster
  • Oliver Goldsmith
  • Persol
  • Warby Parker

References