Check one: the lens is optically clean
Hold the pair at arm's length and look through the outer third of each lens at a straight edge, a door frame or a window bar. On a good lens the line stays straight as you move the pair; on a cheap lens it bends, ripples or jumps at the edge. That distortion is what makes a bad pair tiring by lunchtime, and no coating fixes it. A second test: look at a bright light through the lens; a good lens shows no streaks or swirls in the tint.
Check two: the protection is real
Every sunglass lens should block the ultraviolet that damages the eye, and the mark for that is UV400, which every MUJOSH lens carries whatever its colour or price. A dark lens without it is worse than no lens, because the pupil opens behind the tint. The UV400 sunglasses guide explains the mark; the point here is that protection is a coating, not a colour, so a pale lens with it beats a black lens without.
Check three: polarization is what it says
Polarization is a filter inside the lens that cuts the glare bouncing off water, roads and glass, and it is the one feature most often claimed and not delivered. The test is a phone screen: look at it through the lens and turn the pair, and a true polarized lens darkens the screen at one angle. The how to tell if sunglasses are polarized guide walks through it, the what are polarized sunglasses guide covers what the filter does, and the polarized vs non polarized guide says when you need it. A high quality pair is not required to be polarized; it is required to be honest about whether it is.
Check four: the hinge and the hardware
Open and close each temple ten times. A good hinge moves with the same resistance every time and stops where it should; a cheap one wobbles, clicks or has a visible pin. A spring hinge, which lets the temple open past its stop and return, is a mark of a frame built to be worn rather than displayed, and the spring hinge glasses guide explains why it matters. Then the screws: a quality frame has screws you can tighten, or no screws at all by design. A screwless front, where the hinge is built into the shape of the frame, is the most durable construction there is, because there is nothing to work loose.
Check five: the material is the right one for the job
Three materials make a good frame, and each has a tell. Acetate should be cut from a sheet and polished, not moulded: look at the inside edge of the rim, where a cut frame shows a smooth, even surface and a moulded one shows a seam. The acetate sunglasses guide covers it. Metal should flex and return rather than hold a bend; titanium is the lightest and most corrosion resistant, and the titanium sunglasses guide and the metal frame sunglasses guide cover the grades. TR90 and the sport materials are flexible, light and take a drop; the lightweight sunglasses guide ranks the range by weight. What a cheap pair uses is a brittle plastic that looks like acetate from the front and snaps at the hinge.
Check six: the fit, and what stands behind it
A frame that slides, pinches or sits on the cheeks is not high quality whatever it is made of, because quality you do not wear is worth nothing. The four checks, bridge, brow, cheek and temple, are in the how should sunglasses fit guide; the one most pairs fail is the bridge, which is why many of our frames are cut for a lower nose bridge or fitted with adjustable nose pads, and the low bridge fit sunglasses collection gathers them. The last part of this check is what stands behind the pair: a return window long enough to wear it, and a warranty. MUJOSH ships every pair with 30 day returns and a one year warranty.
What high quality does not mean
A name. Most of the gap between $99 and $400 is the name on the temple, and the lens inside is often the same grade. Glass lenses. Glass is scratch resistant and heavy; a good polycarbonate or nylon lens is lighter, safer when it breaks and optically clean, which is why most sunglasses use it. Weight. A heavy frame feels expensive in the hand and tires the nose by afternoon; the best frames are light. A mirror. A mirror coating is a look, not a grade, and it is the first thing to scratch; the mirrored sunglasses guide covers how to keep one. The affordable sunglasses guide is the other half of this piece: what a pair under $100 should give you.
Eight MUJOSH pairs that pass the six checks
Every pair is UV400; polarization is stated only where the product page states it; prices from the product pages on 27 October; 30 day returns and a one year warranty on all.
Pearl-Accented, $99. The construction piece: a rimless diamond-cut lens on titanium temples with a pearl accent, polarized, with adjustable nose pads. Rimless done properly, in the lightest frame metal there is; SGP carries a lilac gradient, SWB silver with grey. Pearl-Accented
Lady Lang, $119. The hardware piece: a screwless cat eye with a hinge-free front, polarized, adjustable nose pads and a low bridge fit. Nothing to work loose. Lady Lang
Heavenly, $165. The finish piece: a resort-style square in laser-matte metal, in RGPM rose gold with a rose gradient, BGGS brown gradient and BSSV silver with a grey gradient. The matte finish is the kind that does not show fingerprints or wear. Heavenly
Zest, $169. The acetate piece: a narrow oval in polished acetate with polarized lenses, in OBPG gloss black, LRPG translucent cognac and DTPLG. Cut and polished, not moulded; the frame to run the rim test on. Zest
Futuristic, $159. The engineering piece: a one-piece bent-lens shield in TR90 with hidden spring hinges, in three colourways. The lens and the hinge are the two hardest things to do well, and this is both. Futuristic
Oatt Fold, $149. The mechanism piece: a folding round-square in lightweight TR90 that packs flat, three colourways. A folding frame with hinges that still move the same way after a season is the test of hinge quality; the foldable sunglasses guide covers it. Oatt Fold
Dixrea, $99. The everyday piece: a polished acetate square with polarized grey lenses, gold tone rivets and a low bridge fit, in black, burgundy and grey crystal. Every check passed at under $100. Dixrea
Jasmin, $79. The proof that quality is not price: an oversized cat eye in Italian acetate with polarized lenses and a low bridge fit, in black or red. Cut acetate, a real hinge, a lens that works, a bridge that stays. Jasmin
The polarized lenses collection marks which carry the filter, the titanium glasses collection has the titanium frames, and the full range is in the sunglasses collection. The best sunglasses for women guide and best sunglasses for men guide go pair by pair.
Keeping a good pair good
Quality is lost in the care more often than in the making. Rinse before you wipe, because grit dragged across a lens is how it scratches; the how to clean sunglasses guide covers the method, and the scratched glasses guide what to do once it has happened. Take the pair off with both hands and keep it in a hard case.
The bottom line
High quality sunglasses pass six checks: a lens with no distortion at the edge, real UV400 protection, polarization that is what it says, a hinge that moves the same way every time, a material cut or forged rather than moulded, and a fit that sits level with a return window behind it. None of those is a name, glass or weight. In the MUJOSH range the eight that show each check are Pearl-Accented, Lady Lang, Heavenly, Zest, Futuristic, Oatt Fold, Dixrea and Jasmin, from $79 to $169, every one with 30 day returns and a one year warranty.
Frequently asked questions
How can you tell if sunglasses are high quality?
Six checks: look through the lens edge at a straight line (it should stay straight), confirm the UV400 mark, test polarization against a phone screen, open and close the hinge ten times, look at the inside of the rim for a cut rather than a moulded edge, and wear the pair for the fit. A return window and a warranty are the seventh.
Are expensive sunglasses better quality?
Not by price alone. Most of the gap between a $99 and a $400 pair is the name; the lens grade, hinge and material are what to check, and a well made pair under $100 passes the same six checks as one at four times the price.
Does high quality mean polarized?
No. Polarization is a feature for glare off water, roads and glass; a high quality pair can be non-polarized by design. What quality requires is honesty about which it is, which the phone screen test settles in ten seconds.
Which MUJOSH sunglasses are the highest quality?
Pearl-Accented ($99, rimless titanium, polarized), Lady Lang ($119, screwless), Heavenly ($165, laser-matte metal), Zest ($169, cut acetate, polarized), Futuristic ($159, one-piece lens with hidden spring hinges), Oatt Fold ($149, folding), Dixrea ($99) and Jasmin ($79), all with 30 day returns and a one year warranty.
