Super-tough shades fuse wood, carbon fiber

Given the ease with which I lose sunglasses, paying $550 for a pair would be totally out of the question. But those who'd consider shelling out as much for shades as they would for a low-end laptop might find it worth looking at EzriEyes, a sleek pair of glasses that fuse laminated wood and carbon fiber for unusual durability.

Credit: Tarazi Studios

The idea stemmed from Israeli designer Ezri Tarazi's frequent boyhood eyewear clashes on the basketball court, he says on the site for Tarazi Studios. "I fantasized (about) owning a pair that would never break."

So Tarazi--former chair of the industrial design program at the acclaimed Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem--got to creating. He knew that laminated wood is a strong material, and that carbon fiber is even stronger. "So I thought, 'Why not put the two together and create super-tough eyeglass frames with appeal and touch of real wood?'"

EzriEyes are available with lenses that block 100 percent of UV radiation and harmful blue light up to 400 nanometers. With that price tag, we'd almost expect them to let you see through walls.