Acetate Optical Frames with Metal Temples | OEM & ODM Eyewear Manufacturer in Shenzhen
Written by Cedric
We've been making combination acetate-metal eyeglass frames at our own factory in Shenzhen for over twenty years. Our clients are brand owners, optical retail chains, distributors, and cross-border e-commerce sellers shipping to Europe, North America, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Design, sampling, mass production, packaging - we handle the chain ourselves, all the way to the loading dock. No trading companies in between, which means you talk to the people who actually make your frames.
Why We Use Acetate for the Front
Injection-molded fronts can't do what acetate does. Tortoise patterns, transparent tones, layered color blocking, gradient stripes - these effects are pressed into the material itself. No surface printing can replicate them. Acetate also warms up slowly against the skin, so the frame stays comfortable in winter and never feels sticky on a hot day.
Acetate sheet comes to us from three suppliers: Mazzucchelli from Italy, plus Jinyu and Jimei domestically. Mazzucchelli starts with cotton linter cellulose, acetylates it into cellulose acetate, then casts and laminates it into sheets. Their layered lamination can stack more than a dozen color gradations into a single block - that's where those deep, milky tortoise patterns come from. Domestic sheet runs at roughly 60–70% of the import price, and the quality gap has narrowed fast in recent years. Your positioning and budget decide which one we pull from the rack.
Every new batch of sheet goes into the oven first. We call it roasting: about a week at 60°C, letting the plasticizer dissipate slowly so the material settles into stable dimensions. Skip this step and the finished frame shrinks over the following months - six months in, the temples start pinching the wearer's face. We roast every batch. No exceptions.
From there, CNC machines mill the fronts and temple blanks against cutting dies. The parts go into tumbling barrels with wood chips and polishing compound for dozens of hours, rounding off every edge. Hand polishing comes last. An experienced polisher spends 15 to 30 minutes on a single frame, working through progressively finer compounds until the surface holds a clean reflection.
Temple Materials: Stainless Steel or β-Titanium
Standard spec is brushed stainless steel, finished in a deep tone that pairs cleanly with the brown front. The steel is hard, takes plating well, and sails through RoHS and REACH testing.
For a lighter build, we can switch to β-titanium temples. β-titanium has a much lower elastic modulus than stainless steel - roughly 70–80 GPa versus around 190 GPa - so it flexes gently and recovers smoothly. A β-titanium pair comes in 2–3 grams lighter than stainless, and the wearer stops noticing the temples behind the ears. The trade-off is cost: raw material and machining both climb.
Whichever metal you choose, every temple ends in a matching acetate tip, same color as the front. Warm to the touch, and it grips well.
The Hinge: Where Acetate Meets Metal
Ask any factory where combination frames fail, and the answer is always the hinge area.
We build the joint with a multi-barrel metal hinge. The barrel is heated and press-fitted into the acetate corner of the front, then locked with rivets or screws. A quality hinge is rated for 50,000+ open-close cycles, and the test reports are available on request. Every frame gets a hands-on hinge feel check before it leaves the line.
Our go-to hinge brands are OBE from Germany and Comtec. OBE spring hinges deliver a stable, long-lasting feel - we reserve them for mid-to-high-end lines. Comtec offers better value for volume models. Other brands on request. One detail we never compromise: zero gap between acetate and metal at the joint, flush rivets, and temples that sit level with the front when folded open. Cut corners here, and the frame starts wobbling within a year.
Specifications & Customization Options
| Item | Standard Spec | Customization |
|---|---|---|
| Front material | Cellulose acetate sheet | Brand and color code to order (Mazzucchelli / Jinyu / Jimei / Guandi) |
| Temple material | Brushed stainless steel | Upgrade to β-titanium or memory metal; colors and plating to order (gunmetal / brushed silver / black-gold / rose gold) |
| Temple tips | Acetate, matching the front | Any Pantone color |
| Hinge | Multi-barrel metal hinge, rivet/screw locked | Standard or spring hinge; OBE / Comtec or other brands |
| Lenses | Demo lenses (optical white) | Blue-light blocking, photochromic, polarized, or tinted; ZEISS and other branded lenses on request |
| Front shape | Square with rounded corners | Shape and size to your design, tooling available |
| Frame weight | Approx. 22–26g (without lenses) | Adjusts with material and dimensions |
| Dimensions | Lens width / bridge / temple length | Typical ranges: lens 48–54mm, bridge 18–22mm, temple 140–150mm; made to order |
| Fitting PD | Custom | Typical range 54–68mm |
| Prescription range | To your spec | Depends on rim thickness and lens index |
| Logo | Laser engraving / color-filled engraving / metal plate | Position and size per your brand guidelines |
| Packaging | Individual box | Box, manual, cleaning cloth, and hang tags per your brand VI |
How Custom Orders Run
- Requirement confirmation: Send us your design draft or a physical sample, along with quantity, target price, destination market, and packaging requirements.
- Sampling: First sample ships in 12–18 working days after design confirmation. (Yes, we've heard every possible version of "make the tortoise a little lighter." Send the reference photo anyway - that's what sampling is for.) Color-only sampling without new tooling moves faster.
- Sample approval: You check color, dimensions, and logo placement. We lock the specs.
- Mass production: Existing model with color/logo changes: 300 pieces MOQ, 30–35 days. New model with tooling: 600 pieces MOQ, 45–60 days.
- Shipment: Full QC inspection, AQL 2.5 sampling, then packed and loaded.
Already have a design in hand? Send it over - the sampling clock starts the day we confirm your file.
Quality Control & Compliance
Fifteen QA staff run four separate checkpoints.
Incoming inspection covers the raw material: sheet thickness tolerance, color consistency across batches, plating adhesion on metal parts - sampled lot by lot before anything enters production.
In-process inspection catches problems while they're still cheap to fix. After CNC milling, we check dimensions against the cutting dies. After polishing, we check the surface under strong light for waves and swirl marks. Hinge assembly gets its own check, because a misaligned barrel ruins everything downstream.
Final full inspection goes frame by frame before packing: hinge action, screw tightness, front symmetry, and lens groove burrs. Nothing ships with a sharp edge left in the lens channel.
Pre-shipment sampling follows the AQL 2.5 standard on every outgoing lot.
Third-party testing is handled through SGS, and the factory holds ISO 9001 certification. Our spectacle frames comply with ISO 12870. For sunglasses programs, we meet ISO 12312-1, AS/NZS 1067.1, and ANSI Z80.3, with CE marking for the EU market. The factory is registered with the US FDA, and paired lenses meet FDA impact-resistance requirements under 21 CFR 801.410.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MOQ for custom acetate frames?
300 pieces for an existing model with color or logo changes. 600 pieces for a new model requiring tooling.
Do you support private label eyewear?
Yes. Roughly half of our output ships under client brands - your logo on the temples, your packaging, your paperwork. We stay invisible.
How long does eyewear sampling take?
12–18 working days for the first sample after design confirmation. Color-change sampling without new tooling is quicker.
How much does the frame weigh? What sizes are available?
22–26 grams without lenses. Typical dimensions: lens width 48–54mm, bridge 18–22mm, temple length 140–150mm - all adjustable to your design.
Can the temples be upgraded to β-titanium?
Yes. A β-titanium pair runs 2–3 grams lighter than stainless and flexes more gently behind the ears. Material and machining costs run higher - we'll quote both options so you can compare.
Which certifications do I need for the EU and US markets?
Frames follow ISO 12870. Sunglasses add ISO 12312-1, AS/NZS 1067.1, ANSI Z80.3, and CE marking for Europe. Our FDA registration covers US shipments, and test reports are available on request.
How long is the production lead time?
30–35 days after sample approval for color changes on existing models. 45–60 days for new models with tooling.
Get a Quote & Free Samples
Send us your target quantity, destination market, and design draft if you have one. Our engineering team will review it and come back with a quotation and sampling plan within 1–2 working days.
As a factory-direct eyewear manufacturer in China, we quote ex-work, FOB, or CIF - whichever fits your logistics.
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