Jacques Marie Mage - Wolves, Obnoxious Acetate and The American Dream

[DorianGreen]

RE: Akila Miracles (Aviator Acetate)

Fit/Style
These are pretty cool. They look about as big as the Dealans, though the lens height looks taller due to the teardrop shape. I love the rainbow gradient lenses. Sadly, these will be gone as I'll be turning these into opticals.

They wear a LOT smaller though. The frame has an aggressive wrap-around, and feel closer to my JMM Schindlers. The temple arms are curved tightly as well all around, but that can be changed.

I think these are a great option for people with small-medium faces, but are looking for an Aviator style.

Akila nailed it, and I think these are going to work great for that in-between option of oversized opticals that will work well as sunglasses/transitions as well.

Handfeel/Weight
They do have a cheap and gaudy feel due to the wirecore, but that's also shared with JMM's wirecore designs that are exposed and engraved.

The acetate feels nice, it does feel less hard and dense compared to JMM's glasses. I looked it up, and Akila used "Mazzuchelli Acetate". It feels more like actual "plastic". May deform a bit more over time, but I'm not concerned.

JMM uses "Takiron Acetate", and it feels more like a dense block of wood. I had a family member describe it as feeling like a wooden hand-railing.

Consequently, the Akila's are more lightweight. I don't mind this, and it will give my head a welcome break. I can only wear my Schindler's for 12 hours in a row before they start irritating my ears.

Recommend?

Resounding yes from me. I think Akila shares a lot of design philosophy with JMM, and is a lot more affordable. I don't regret my JMMs, and they feel more special in the hand and in terms of detailing, but these are a nice alternative. @tweedlover you may be interested in looking into this brand.

I'm sure they may not be as durable as my JMMs, but I'm ok with that.

These look good, for being aviators.

Jokes aside, I think that once you have experienced JMM's quality, you would probably consider nothing else.

 

[FlyingHorker]

I’m not serious! But, there are no alternatives

Interesting topic for debate. I think it depends on how strict we are with defining "Alternatives"

For me, it's not strict for alternatives. Akila shares a lot of design elements, and the acetate is good enough. A lot of the models have chunky acetate as well, and I appreciate the lighter weight as a break from the heavy JMMs.

If we're going by dense, heavy Takiron acetate and precious metal detailing and engraving, then I can't think of any alternatives. That isn't a widely informed opinion though; I don't have much experience handling loads of brands.

These look good, for being aviators.

Jokes aside, I think that once you have experienced JMM's quality, you would probably consider nothing else.

Depends. For me this isn't true for reasons I mentioned up there to verver.

Glasses are one part of my style and look, so JMM quality alone is not enough to keep me strictly buying JMM.

The look and aesthetic matters most to me.

 

[lsterling]

Depends. For me this isn't true for reasons I mentioned up there to verver.

...

The look and aesthetic matters most to me.

I agree. So far, I have only collected JMM but it's more of a commitment to the brand than, "this quality is unmatched and I'll never buy anything else." I'm attracted to several brands besides JMM - Akoni, Kuboraum, and Lapima are a few I've looked at pretty seriously - but for now, I continue to find JMMs that I want in my collection and I prefer to put my money toward those than to purchase the other brands and miss out of JMMs that I still want. If money were not a factor, I'd have those three brands in my collection at the very least. And like I said previously, if I found an Akila frame that just really jumped out at me, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy it regardless of the "lesser" quality.

 

[DorianGreen]

Interesting topic for debate. I think it depends on how strict we are with defining "Alternatives"

For me, it's not strict for alternatives. Akila shares a lot of design elements, and the acetate is good enough. A lot of the models have chunky acetate as well, and I appreciate the lighter weight as a break from the heavy JMMs.

If we're going by dense, heavy Takiron acetate and precious metal detailing and engraving, then I can't think of any alternatives. That isn't a widely informed opinion though; I don't have much experience handling loads of brands.

Depends. For me this isn't true for reasons I mentioned up there to verver.

Glasses are one part of my style and look, so JMM quality alone is not enough to keep me strictly buying JMM.

The look and aesthetic matters most to me.

As quality I mean the whole, material, execution and in first place design. I don't see any eyewear, other than JMM, combining all elements in an only nearly so good way.

 

[FlyingHorker]

I agree. So far, I have only collected JMM but it's more of a commitment to the brand than, "this quality is unmatched and I'll never buy anything else." I'm attracted to several brands besides JMM - Akoni, Kuboraum, and Lapima are a few I've looked at pretty seriously - but for now, I continue to find JMMs that I want in my collection and I prefer to put my money toward those than to purchase the other brands and miss out of JMMs that I still want. If money were not a factor, I'd have those three brands in my collection at the very least. And like I said previously, if I found an Akila frame that just really jumped out at me, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy it regardless of the "lesser" quality.

I would love if you shared your thoughts on those other brands, especially if you had a chance to handle them. Kuboraum I'm vaguely familiar with, their P8 aviator frame was one I was considering, but the brand tends to fit me weird.

I agree with the bolded. If money was no factor, I'd probably buy all my JMM grails and include other brands as well.

As quality I mean the whole, material, execution and in first place design. I don't see any eyewear, other than JMM, combining all elements in an only nearly so good way.

I disagree, but that's a fair opinion. I think that this is up to subjective tastes.

FWIW, JMMs fit me the best as well compared to many other brands. Seemingly every pair I try fits my schnoz really well, which is important with thicker acetate.

Also, as someone with ****** eyesight, JMM frames apparently just naturally work well for the lenses as well.

For my Akilas, I wanted to get 3 options in one. Add power for reading at the bottom, base tinted optical lenses, and transitions.

I was told that the frame is so aggressively curved at the front, that the lenses would protrude from the front and back if I were to get all the options. I dropped the base tint option to prevent that.

Apparently these 3 options would have worked just fine on my JMMs. My Schindlers are completely flat, and my Dealans are slightly curved, but would still work due to the thicker acetate.

 

[RegisDB9]

Ive owned and held some Cartiers that put JMM to shame but we’re talking about gold and glass and I have no idea where Cartier gets their acetate but it was real nice. JMM sometimes leaves A LOT to be desired with the details. All in all though I’m obviously a huge fan but it’s not the end all be all out there

 

[tweedlover]

Interesting topic for debate. I think it depends on how strict we are with defining "Alternatives"

For me, it's not strict for alternatives. Akila shares a lot of design elements, and the acetate is good enough. A lot of the models have chunky acetate as well, and I appreciate the lighter weight as a break from the heavy JMMs.

If we're going by dense, heavy Takiron acetate and precious metal detailing and engraving, then I can't think of any alternatives. That isn't a widely informed opinion though; I don't have much experience handling loads of brands.

Depends. For me this isn't true for reasons I mentioned up there to verver.

Glasses are one part of my style and look, so JMM quality alone is not enough to keep me strictly buying JMM.

The look and aesthetic matters most to me.

Yup,for me sunglasses choice is a matter of looks, functionality, and price. Does it look good? Does it shield the eyes well enough? Does it do those 2 things in a cost-effective manner? Simply bang for the buck for me.

 

[OccultaVexillum]

Enzo’s are big and blocky

Belize or bigger and blockier

tbh i think they are too big for me but I also kinda don’t care.

nice little snugg for your sunnies

 

[Thin White Duke]

Well let’s see them on your face then!

 

[DorianGreen]

Enzo’s are big and blocky

Belize or bigger and blockier

tbh i think they are too big for me but I also kinda don’t care.
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nice little snugg for your sunnies
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I really like the detail on the temple, reminding that on older models, like Sandro and Hickok.

 

[Jaymig926]

Very nice, Let’s see them on.

 

[elisiX]

Enzo’s are big and blocky

Belize or bigger and blockier

tbh i think they are too big for me but I also kinda don’t care.
View attachment 1879318
View attachment 1879319
View attachment 1879321

nice little snugg for your sunnies
View attachment 1879320

I thought you ordered these from the states! What are local prices? $17xx per JMM site?

Gotta get an on face from you for these and a comparison to Enzo if possible.

 

[DorianGreen]

I thought you ordered these from the states! What are local prices? $17xx per JMM site?

Gotta get an on face from you for these and a comparison to Enzo if possible.

What does let you think that they did not come from America?

They are available on JMM website and on Umit Benan one, where they are priced in Euro. For us in Europe, it is certainly better to order at Umit Benan.

 

[elisiX]

Just that I feel like they were only ordered like a day or two ago and OV is in Sydney AU like me.

Oh and yes, ordering from Europe has historically meant lower prices for us in AU when VAT is removed.

 

[elisiX]

Also seeing those real life pics of the Tokyo Tort, I realllllly want an Enzo in this color way. Matte finish and all.