AHLEM Rue de Turenne — Jade, Blue & Brick
Lens Art Interpretation: AHLEM Rue de Turenne — Jade, Blue & Brick
Some Lens Art commissions begin with a very specific request.
Others begin with curiosity.
David, from Ipswich, came to us as he was beginning to explore eyewear more seriously. He already owned some beautiful pieces and had discovered that eyewear could become more than something purely functional. As his collection developed, so did the opportunity for each pair to have a different purpose and personality.
He tracked us down specifically for Lens Art and, because he wasn't local to us, we carried out the consultation remotely.
The frame was an AHLEM Rue de Turenne.
And this was one of those occasions where the closer we looked at the frame, the more interesting the lens possibilities became.
The Frame
The Rue de Turenne is beautifully proportioned.
David suits smaller-fitting eyewear, and this frame gives him that without feeling narrow or insignificant. There is enough depth through the lens shape to give it presence, while the acetate construction gives the frame substance.
From a distance, it could almost be mistaken for something relatively simple.
Get closer and that changes.
The detailing through the core wire, the hardware and the subtly matt-finished chamfers along the acetate temples give the frame considerably more character than it initially reveals.
It doesn't need to shout.
That became important when designing the lenses.
We didn't want to overwhelm those details. We wanted the lenses to draw them out.
Understanding David
David already wears photochromic lenses in his everyday eyewear.
With this pair, however, he wanted to begin exploring a permanent tint — initially more from a style perspective than because he felt he needed a tinted lens.
But Lens Art doesn't stop at choosing a colour that looks good in a frame.
Through our remote consultation we explored where he saw himself wearing the glasses, his lifestyle, travel, existing eyewear and the kind of visual experience he wanted from this pair.
We also carried out a remote colour analysis.
From that information came the foundation of the design.
Not one colour.
Two.
The Lens Art Design
We created a bespoke blue-to-brick bi-gradient tint.
The blue occupies the upper part of the lens, introducing a cooler quality to the design. Visually, it can also soften some of the harshness associated with bright artificial environments.
Then the lens transitions into a warmer brick tone below.
That warmth was important.
It connects beautifully with David's colouring while also sitting naturally against the earthy translucent character of the AHLEM acetate.
Rather than the lens and frame competing, the colours begin talking to one another.
Indoors, the result remains relatively restrained.
Look closely, however, and there is considerably more happening than first appears.
And that was only the first state of the lens.
Then David Chose Jade
Originally, David wasn't looking for anything particularly loud.
Then he saw the Lens Art designs incorporating Dinamica Jade.
And sometimes that is exactly why we produce interpretations rather than simply asking someone to choose a lens colour from a sample.
Seeing a possibility in context can completely change your perception of it.
David kept coming back to Jade.
Once activated by UV, the lenses transform into a rich green that gives the Rue de Turenne an entirely different personality.
The warm, understated acetate suddenly has this beautiful fresh green sitting within it.
It is stronger.
More expressive.
But somehow it still feels right.
For David's travelling in particular, Jade offered something very different from the eyewear he already owned.
Designing the Coating Out
There was already a lot happening within this lens.
A blue-to-brick bespoke tint.
A Jade photochromic.
The interaction between those colours.
The AHLEM acetate.
We didn't need another colour competing for attention through the anti-reflection treatment.
So we chose Crystal Elite.
The intention was simple: reduce reflections and glare while keeping the coating visually neutral, allowing the colours we had deliberately designed into the lens to breathe.
Sometimes Lens Art is about adding something.
Sometimes it is knowing when not to add anything else.
The Unexpected Colour
There is another stage to these lenses that I particularly love.
The fade-back.
A photochromic lens isn't simply clear or activated. It moves continuously between states.
And when you combine photochromic technology with an existing bespoke tint, those intermediate stages can produce colours that weren't explicitly designed as standalone tints at all.
As the Dinamica Jade begins fading and the underlying blue-and-brick gradient starts to reappear, we see moments of teal transitioning towards amber.
It is beautiful.
And it demonstrates something fundamental about the way we approach photochromic lens design.
We are not necessarily designing two colours.
We are designing a sequence of colour.
The Lens Art Interpretation
Frame: AHLEM Rue de Turenne
Client: David — Ipswich, UK
Consultation: Remote Lens Art® consultation & colour analysis
Base Design: Bespoke blue-to-brick bi-gradient tint
Adaptive Technology: Dinamica Jade photochromic
Coating: Crystal Elite
Visual Character: Cool → warm → fresh jade → teal/amber fade-back
Purpose: Everyday style, travel, changing light and a distinctive addition to an evolving eyewear collection
Lens Artist's Interpretation
This commission isn't really about green lenses.
It isn't really about a blue-and-brick gradient either.
It is about creating different visual personalities within one pair of eyewear.
Indoors, the Rue de Turenne remains sophisticated and relatively quiet. The bespoke tint adds enough colour to make the lenses intentional without overpowering the craftsmanship of the frame.
Move into UV and Jade completely changes its energy.
Then, between those two states, the lens produces colours of its own.
That is where this interpretation becomes particularly interesting.
The frame stays the same.
David stays the same.
The light changes — and the eyewear responds.
That is Lens Art®.
Observe → Understand → Interpret → Design.
Create Your Own Lens Art®
Every Lens Art commission begins with understanding you — your eyewear, your prescription, your lifestyle and what you want your lenses to become.
Whether you already own a frame you would like us to transform or you're beginning something completely new, Lens Art consultations are available in practice and remotely worldwide.
