When it comes to stylish eyewear, few do it as well as Hawaiian brand Maui Jim. Beginning life in 1987 as a small company selling its colourful sunglasses on Ka’anapali beach in Lahaina, Maui, it has come a long way since those early days, and has since made a name for itself as one of the most highly sought-after names for high-end shades and stylish optical eyewear in the world.
It’s not difficult to see why, as with over 125 different styles to choose from across its current collection – which is a far cry from its original ‘Classic Collection’ of just seven – there is something for every type of style-conscious individual. And, thanks to Maui Jim’s innovative PolarizedPlus2 lens technology, which eliminates glare, offers comprehensive UV and HEV protection, and enhances colours, its sunglasses and blue light glasses are a high-performance choice for those looking for the very finest quality vision-protecting accessories available.
In 2019, the brand announced an exciting new partnership with Manchester United Football Club, thrusting it well and truly into the limelight here in the UK – and as the club’s official vision partner, the relationship has continued to gather momentum in 2022. The brand now supplies both the men’s and women’s first teams with glasses from its sun and optical collections, and to commemorate the partnership, it has also launched a co-branded eyewear collection, featuring over 20 styles, with fans in mind, which is available to fans in the Old Trafford Megastore.
The unique properties its colourful range of sunglasses and blue light glasses boast have the power to optimise players’ visual experiences and protect their vision when off the field. Just as when wearing a seat belt while in the car or sunscreen when outside, Maui Jim sunglasses offer the players protective eyewear, but with a premium visual experience, and all whilst enhancing style.
So, how exactly do they work? First, let’s take a look at Maui Jim’s polarised sunglasses. Light rays direct from the sun are reflected off flat or shiny surfaces, and become polarised, causing uncomfortable glare when they enter the eye, but the brand’s polarised lens technology manages that glare for more effective eye protection.
Glare washes out colour, obscures detail and fatigues the eyes, making it difficult to see things properly in bright sunlight and often resulting in headaches. But each and every pair of Maui Jim sunglasses eliminates 99.9 per cent of glare, allowing eyes to relax and see the world with improved clarity and detail and enjoy the beauty of life to the full.
Today, Maui Jim is the world’s number one premium polarised sunglasses brand, so if you’re yet to treat yourself to a pair, then now is the time to do it. It might be winter, but that luxury sunshine getaway is calling – plus, the sun’s rays can be just as harmful throughout the year without adequate protection for the eyes.
And sunglasses that lack comprehensive UV protection can actually do more harm than good, because they shade the eye – causing the pupil to dilate and let in more damaging UV rays than if you weren’t wearing any at all.
Unprotected exposure to UV rays can lead to serious health issues including sunburn of the eyes (yes, that’s a thing!) cataracts and macular degeneration, with worst case scenarios even going as far as cancer of the eye, or of the skin surrounding the eye, where five to ten percent of all skin cancers occur.
But UV rays aren’t the only ones you should be concerned about, as in today’s modern world, ‘HEV’ rays are becoming just as problematic without proper protection for the eyes.
HEV, or high energy visible light, comes from the sun, digital devices – such as tablets, cell phones and laptops – and indoor lighting, and can also be damaging because it penetrates the cornea and reaches the retina, causing eye strain and fatigue. In excess, it has also been linked with age-related macular degeneration.
That’s where Maui Jim’s impressive blue light protect lens proprietary technology comes in.
Blue light glasses are becoming increasingly highly sought after in today’s modern world, with most of us spending a significant amount of time scrolling our smartphones or sitting in front of laptops and TV screens – which as well as causing damage to the eyes, has been shown to disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythms and have a negative knock-on effect on our quality of sleep.
If you’ve ever found yourself waking repeatedly in the night, or struggling to drop off in the first place, then your late night Instagram habit could be to blame – but wearing blue light glasses can help to minimise the unsavoury effects of exposure to blue rays.
Maui Jim’s proprietary HEV lens blocks 78 per cent of harmful HEV, efficiently reducing hazardous blue light while allowing only beneficial amounts to transmit at the highest level compared with other HEV-blocking products – thus protecting the wearer against eye strain and related headaches, tired eyes, blurred vision and potential retinal damage.
If you’ve yet to stumble across the brand, then you might be interested to know that earlier this year, Maui Jim became part of world-renowned Kering Eyewear, which belongs to global luxury group, Kering. And it’s in good company, sitting amongst the likes of Gucci, Cartier and Alexander McQueen, to name but a few of the other esteemed brands within the Kering portfolio.
So, if you’re looking to uplevel your sunglasses game in 2022, or protect your eyes from the pressures of today’s modern world, then look no further than Maui Jim.
