Glasses Frames That Are Easy on the Temples

If you wear them, you'll have heard of SO many different names for the parts of glasses.

There's the optometrists who have their own secret code... then there's makers like us who have our own entire glasses language too.

So in this article, we've put together a list of the main parts of glasses frames and what they're really called. Here's a brief overview.

Glasses frames comprise of three main parts, containing multiple sub-parts within their construction. Primarily, there is the frame-front and two protrusions known as temples. These main components come in many different forms and materials which have their own specific functions, styles and names.

Parts of eyeglasses

To quickly find the name, definition or location of a glasses part, you can use the handy link-box below.

Otherwise, feel free to scroll through the anatomy of eyeglass frame parts.

What are the names of the parts of glasses?

A tortoise acetate spectacle frame front

A tortoise acetate frame front | Full rim | 5 tenon hinges | Keyhole bridge | Dual-cluster tapered rivets

1. Frame front

This is the main part of your glasses frame. It's what secures your lenses in place.

Your frame front largely dictates the style and aesthetic of your glasses, a considerable factor in how you want to put yourself across. See style guide

As you'll have seen, frame fronts vary in terms of their material, colour shape and size. They can be made from various types of material, predominantly cellulose acetate, metal or high-performance composites such as carbon fibre.

Before plastic came on the scene, (1907,) natural materials such as bone, wood, ivory, horn and real tortoise shell were used to make the frame front and temples of a glasses frame. Since then, materials such as cellulose acetate has generally made these older materials obsolete.

How acetate is made

Frame front types

Full rimframe fronts cover the entire edge of a lens. Your lenses are held in place using an angled recess in the frame front called a lens groove.

Half rimframe fronts are the same as full rim but their lower half is missing. This means the bottom edges of your lenses are exposed and are secured in place using a thin nylon chord called "Supra."

Rimlessframe fronts are joined together via a metal bridge. Via screws, the bridge joins and secures the lenses together to make the frame front. At the edges of the lenses, the temples are also attached via screws through the outer-sides of each lens.

Frame front sub-parts

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The endpiece part of a glasses frame

A tortoise acetate frame front with a double rivet cluster on the endpiece.

2. Endpieces

At the outermost edges of your frame front, are the glasses endpieces.

This is where the temples locate onto the rear side of the frame front via the hinges. Endpieces vary in size and shape, depending on the style of temples on your glasses.

Endpiece types

Full rim/half rim endpieces usually have recess on their rear-side to accommodate the hinge. This recess is called a hinge grave where the hinge locates into the frame material surface. Depending on the type of hinge, you'll often see rivets that pass right through the frame front in order to fasten the hinge.

Rimless endpieces are actually part of temple instead of the front. Beyond the hinge is another section of metal called a "lug", which is usually a bent at an angle of about 96°. The lug is then screwed through the lens to create a firm joint.

[See example]

Endpiece sub-parts

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Four types of spectacle nose bridges

Four types of metal glasses bridges. Far right example is a metal keyhole bridge.

3. Bridge

What is the bridge on glasses?

Sounds simple, but your glasses bridge is exactly that. It bridges your nose.

For facial comfort, the bridge of your glasses has two main functions. These come from bridge bump and the bridge aperture.

From above, you'll notice that the bridge protrudes slightly from your glasses frame. This is called the "bump" which creates room for the crest (top) of your nose as the glasses rest on your face.

The bridge aperture, also called the bridge apical radius, can be seen from the front of the frame. This space makes room for the majority of your nose. Without this space, your nose couldn't locate into your glasses frame.

Bridge sub-types

Regular bridges are a continuous, flowing shape which make a U-shaped slot in the frame front. This style of bridge is relatively modern and is very simple in appearance.

Keyhole bridges are a traditional style of bridge which resembles that of a keyhole. This bridge-style is generally more classic, associated with full rim eyewear design from the mid-century.

Metal bridgesare used for either rimless frame fronts or for acetate "split frames." For acetate split frames, a conjoining piece of metal is riveted or screwed into the separate acetate rims to join them together.

For rimless frames, it's very much the same but the bridge is attached with screws through the lenses instead.

Bridge sub-parts

Keyhole bridge | Metal bridge | Nose pads | Pad bridge | Regular bridge

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Two glasses lenses on top of each other on a white table

Examples of a concave and a convex lens. These lenses are actually made from glass but most modern lenses are made from CR39 plastic.

4. Lenses

Arguably the most important part of your glasses, the lenses are there to correct your vision.

There are many types of spectacle lenses, which were originally made from glass. However nowadays, most if not all spectacle lenses are made from types of high index plastic.

Depending on the type of frame front, your lenses are secured into your gasses using different types of friction fit. The optical term for fitting your lenses is a process called glazing.

Full rim frames have an angled female recess on the inside of the rim called a lens groove. This recess is about 1.5mm deep at an angle 120°. Cut onto the edge of the lens is a 'male' bevel which locates into a 'female' lens groove by heating and gently stretching the frame front.

Half rim frames also have a lens groove but with the addition of a Supra chord. This nylon string locates into a female recess around the edge of lens which holds it into place in the frame.

Rimless frame lenses are secure via screws into the bridge and endpieces.

Lens sub-types

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Acetate temple part of a glasses frame

A tortoise acetate example of a hockey-end temple. Dual rivet | 5 tenon hinge | Wire core

5. Temples

What part of glasses is the temple?

Oh boy these parts of glasses have some strange names.

Some call them legs, other call them arms.

Seems logical…but the proper name for them is temples, simply because they locate on each side of your head.

There are numerous styles of temple, but their main function is to keep your glasses secure when you're wearing them.

Interestingly, temples are actually relatively modern as old-fashioned glasses didn't originally have them. Instead, these old styles of glasses without temples just rested on your nose or were held to the face via a handle.

Yep, we're talking templeless glasses here folks like lorgnettes and monocles.

Today, glasses temples tend to be made from acetate or metal and use what's called a drop end or a hockey end. This is the hooked part of the temple that's grips behind your ear to keep them from sliding off your face, usually at an angle of about 45°.

Glasses temples are made at various lengths to suit different head sizes and vary from 120mm to 150mm in length.

Wondering what length of temple you need?

This information is usually printed or etched onto the inside of the temple itself or occasionally the inside of the frame front. Alongside the bridge with and lens diameter, the temple length is part of the three main dimensions of a glasses frame.

Do you have a transparent acetate glasses frame?

If so, you might notice a strip of metal inside the temple. This component is called a wire core which is used to reinforce the acetate to help keep its shape.

Without this, your temples would eventually become warped and would require repeated heat adjustments to keep them in the correct shape. The wire core helps maintain adjustments carried out by your optician.

Temple sub-types

Temple sub-components

Frame dimensions | Hinges | Hinge graves | Rivets | Wire cores

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Acetate temple tips of a glasses frame

An array of different temple tips made from acetate. These tips slot over the ends of metal temples to provide a comfortable fit behind your ears.

6. Temple tips

What are temple tips?

At the end of your temples are the temple tips.

These are the furthest away from your frame and are made in various iterations.

Acetate glasses temple tips are usually part of the temple itself. However, they can also be added to the end of metal temples, similar to a sock. Seen in the images above, there are different colours, patterns and shapes of acetate temple tip which can be added to a metal temple.

Metal temple tips are usually covered or coated with plastic or rubber to make them more comfortable. However, our uni-piece temple design is cylindrical in form and tapered which reduces the need for additional parts and makes them incredibly easy to wear.

Loop end temple tips are hollow loops which can be found at the end of a straight metal wire temple. These loops are to distribute pressure on the sides of your head and can also be used to attach a frame chain.

See example of loop end temples

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An assortment of metal glasses hinges

An assortment of metal spectacle hinges which can either be riveted, screwed, melted or soldered into a glasses frame.

7. Hinges

Your hinges are the metal joints which allow you to open and close the temples on your glasses frame.

Hinges can also be called "joints" as they conveniently join your frame front with each of your temples.

And yep, you guessed it, there's many variations of glasses hinges which are secured via many different methods. Check out the list below.

Hinge sub-types

Tenon hinges are an extremely common hinge-type used for solid full rim glasses made from acetate, horn or composite fibre.

The term tenons, also called charniers, describes the threaded metal loops which interlock with each other to join the frame and the temples together. Tenon hinges are a very stable type of hinge and come is different tenon counts such as 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Characteristically, tenon hinges do not have any "give" as they are not sprung. When the temple is fully open and meets the frame, a tenon hinge will no let it open any further; a similar function to a house-door.

If your glasses have a tenon hinges, they will likely be fastened in one of two ways, either via pin rivets or heat-insertion. Pin riveting is the most traditional method of attaching a tenon hinge to a glasses frame as they provide a solid fix between the hinge and the frame front.

At Banton Frameworks, this is how we attach our 5 tenon hinges during our manufacture stages.

Spring hinges are also very common and are used in full rim and rimless glasses frames.

They are characterised by their "give." In other words, when you fully open the temple, it can extend beyond it's maximum distance range. This is because of the in-built spring within the hinge, hence the name.

Spring hinges are common amongst low cost glasses frames such as ready readers. They can cater for a wider range of head shapes and offer a one-size-fits-all mechanism.

However, it's worth noting that spring hinges are generally less stable than tenon hinges due to the internal spring mechanism which is more likely to break.

Hidden hingesare identical to tenon hinges, except they have no additional fasteners such as rivets.

Instead, hidden hinges are inserted into the frame via heat or ultrasonic friction which rapidly melts the acetate surrounding the hinge.

This melt makes a sturdy bond between the hinge and the frame without the need for rivets. As you can imagine, hidden hinges are a sleeker design with less components, however they are very rarely repairable.

Because hidden hinges have no rivets, brands and manufacturers may opt to use deco rivets or dummy rivets which mimic the use of real ones. This is done to yield a more traditional construction aesthetic.

Mechanical hingesare bespoke hinges which use cleverly engineered components to reduce the parts and "bulk" of traditional tenon hinges.

Instead of using screws and tenons, mechanical hinges may use entirely wooden or intricate folded metal parts which avoid the need for pin riveted hinges.

Hinges like these are less common as they tend to be used in high-end, technical glasses frames.

Hinge sub-components & types

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Two metal spectacle screws side by side

Thread seeking screws have a detachable "nose" which makes them easier to locate into the threaded tenons of a hinge. Screw head: Dowel

8. Screws

The screws are what join the two halves of a hinge together.

Using one screw per hinge, the screws locate through the interlocked tenons of your glasses hinges.

Once located, the screws can be tightened to adjust the opening and closing mechanism of your temples. This can be a personal preference as to how tight or loose you want this to be.

If you've lost a screw from your glasses frame, you'll be able to get a replacement from your local optician. Or, if you're a Banton Frameworks customer, you can request a pair of replacement thread seeking screws by contacting us here.

Screw sub-types

Dowel screws are the most common type of glasses screw. They are characterised by the straight slot in the top of the screw head.

Cross head screws are slightly less common and use a cross shaped (Phillips) slot in the top of the screw head.

Thread seeking screws are a fantastic design which makes it easier for you to locate the screw into the top tenon of the hinge. They do this via an extended metal "nose" which tapers to a fine point. This nose can then be snapped off once the screw is fully tightened into the hinge as it is no longer required.

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Three different types of nose pads for spectacles

Three examples of hypoallergenic spectacle nose-pads. Silicone and titanium.

9. Nose pads

What are the nose pieces on glasses called?

The nose pads of your glasses are the little humps or circular pads that rest on your nose.

Depending on what style of frame front you have, there are various types of nose pads for glasses frames. These can either part of the frame front material or as a separate metal piece called a pad arm.

Nose pad sub-types

Full rim nose pads are almost always part of the frame front. When the frame front is being cut from the acetate or horn sheet, the nose pads are sculpted as part of the frame as a single piece.

Nose pads like these are very robust and can be adjusted by filing the acetate or horn away to reduce their height. To make them smooth again, the nose pads require hand polishing so they aren't rough on your nose.

Push in nose pads are a secondary item which use a separate glasses part called a pad arm. The pad arms are either inserted into an acetate/horn frame front or attached to a metal front via soldering. Once the pad arm is attached to the frame, a nose pad can be attached to end where it rests on your nose.

Push in nose pads vary in shape, size and material depending on your preference. The bigger the nose pad, the more visible it is. However large nose pads distribute more pressure and are less likely to "dig" into your skin.

Ideally, nose pads should always be hypoallergenic which minimises their chances of reacting with your skin. This is why metal pads are usually titanium and plastic ones are made of rubber or acetate.

Other parts of glasses

If you've made it this far, you'll know by now that there's A LOT of styles and types when it comes to the various parts of glasses.

In this more detailed section, you can explore the sub-types of each component to get an idea of their shape, style, material and function.

Why not use the link-box below for easy navigation?

Different colours of acetate samples lying in a grid pattern

Acetate

Acetate glasses frames are made from a type of bio-plastic called cellulose acetate.

This incredible material is a natural compound which derives from the fibres in cotton 'bolls' or mashed up wood pulp.

Due to their high levels of cellulose, wood or cotton are both excellent sources which are cultivated, refined and mixed with acetic acid to make the sheet material, cellulose acetate.

Acetate comes in a vast variety of colours, patterns and transparencies which make it one of the best polymers for spectacle making.

How acetate is manufactured

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Diagram showing the charniers of a spectacle hinge

An example of a five charnier glasses hinge with a two rivet cluster. The frame half-joint has two charniers and the temple half joint has three charniers.

Charniers

Sounds fancy. French even.

(It is actually French.)

But the charniers of a glasses hinge are the little protruding loops that interlock with one another to create a fully assembled hinge.

Seen in the image above, each of the charniers have a hole in their centre's. This is where a threaded screw locates to secure all the loops together. Each half of the fully assembled hinge is called a half joint.