Berlin Engineering: ic! berlin Sunglasses
What defines the brand and why choose it
In a luxury eyewear market dominated by Italian and French maisons with centuries of fashion history, ic! berlin represents something radically different: the only German brand in the landscape, the only one whose central innovation is a technical patent rather than an aesthetic motif, and the only one that can state with absolute precision that every pair it sells is made by hand in the same city where it was founded nearly thirty years ago.
The story begins in 1996 in a Berlin-Mitte flat, when Ralph Anderl and his co-founders decided that if no one would manufacture their screwless steel frames, they would manufacture them themselves. They bought machinery, started production, and presented their first model — Jack, 20 grams of aluminium with a screwless hinge — to 32 people brave enough to place an advance order. At their first Silmo Paris participation in 1998, they won the Silmo d'Or — the most prestigious award in the global optical industry — in their very first year of entry. They would win it again in 2008 and 2011. The IOFT Eyewear of the Year has gone to ic! berlin 10 times. The Red Dot Design Award. The IOFT Grand Prix Design Award 2021 for men's eyewear. A brand founded with no optical or business experience that ended up redefining both industries. The reason is the patented screwless hinge: a clip system in cold-rolled stainless steel sheet of 0.5mm thickness, laser-cut, with no screws, welds or glue anywhere in the frame. Front and temples join via a clip that separates and reassembles by hand in seconds. The world dismantling record stands at 3.3 seconds. Most models weigh under 20 grams.
Styles and uses: the sun collections
The Classic Collection is the founding line: cold-rolled stainless steel from Germany, 0.5mm laser-cut sheets, minimalist shapes from pure geometric to slightly rounded, in metallic, black, grey and seasonal special-colour finishes. The N.O.W. Titanium Collection takes material to the maximum: beta titanium from Japan, used in aerospace and medicine, combined with the brand's screwless hinge. Even lighter than steel frames, with natural titanium colour finishes and high-tech surface treatments. The Injection Collection solves durability from a different angle: a single piece of high-quality plastic produced by specialised injection moulding — virtually indestructible, flexible, ultra-light, with shapes that exploit the freedom of the mould. The AMG Collection — in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG — takes German performance philosophy into high-voltage eyewear territory: aerodynamic shapes, strong contrasts, window cutouts and complex material combinations.
Technical details: hinge, materials and manufacturing
The patented screwless hinge is the central technical element of the entire collection. In any conventional frame, the hinge screw inevitably loosens with use, requires periodic adjustment and, if lost, disables the frame. At ic! berlin that screw does not exist. The patented clip fits into the hinge groove with a pressure geometry that holds the joint firmly under normal use but allows deliberate manual opening in seconds. Cold-rolled stainless steel from Germany, laser precision-cut. Beta titanium from Japan from aerospace-grade suppliers. Organic cotton acetate — cellulose acetate, not petrochemical — cut from solid blocks. All leftover materials recycled. The S-wave logo is the symbol of the technical twist that stabilises the hinge: its origin is purely functional, not decorative — a constant reminder that at ic! berlin, form always follows function.
Buying online at Visual-Click
Visual-Click is an authorised ic! berlin dealer and stocks the ic! berlin sunglasses collection with official warranty and international shipping. The team can advise on available collections — Classic, N.O.W. Titanium, Injection, AMG — and on current models in each line. The ic! berlin collection at Visual-Click includes the most representative references of Berlin production: Made in Germany handcrafted frames with the original screwless hinge.
Celebrities and cultural context
ic! berlin's profile in popular culture is built around the same principle as its design: substance over decoration. Its frames have been worn by Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Taraji Henson and Ansel Elgort, among others — a roster that reflects the brand's appeal to individuals who prioritise intelligent choice over visible branding. In 2024, Daniel Brühl — the German-Spanish actor who embodies precisely the cosmopolitan Berlin attitude the brand represents — became the official brand ambassador. The brand also has a documented collaboration history with Mercedes-AMGand fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra, demonstrating ic! berlin's ability to translate its engineering ethos into creative collaboration without losing its identity.
Explore the collection
The Classic Collection in German stainless steel, the ultra-lightness of N.O.W. beta titanium, the absolute robustness of the Injection Collection — ic! berlin sunglasses at Visual-Click are Berlin engineering in its purest form. Find your ic! berlin sunglasses at Visual-Click.
