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Aviator sunglasses, metal frame — Hong Kong manufacture, Cyrillic (Soviet-market) branding
Object/Artifact
A pair of aviator-style sunglasses with a thin metal frame (now a dull, tarnished gold/base-metal tone), teardrop lenses in a red-to-clear gradient tint, a straight double brow bar, twin saddle nose pads, and metal temple arms ending in amber plastic (acetate) tips. Both lenses present.
2026.1.1
Item probably belonged to María T. Cornide's late husband, Richard Barnet.
María Teresa Cornide Hernández collection
2026.1
Hong Kong
Asia
Maker: Unidentified Hong Kong manufacturer. "HONG KONG" is the origin stamp; the Cyrillic word is most likely a model/market name for socialist-bloc export, not a maker's name. Date: Not firmly datable. Cyrillic-branded Hong Kong consumer goods belong to the Soviet-era import trade (broadly 1960s–80s, pre-1991), and the metal-aviator/gradient-lens style fits the 1970s–80s.
Temple arm embossed HONG KONG followed by a short Cyrillic word (~5 letters), read by the collector as "OBYHA," not confidently resolvable — worn; likely a brand/model name. No other maker/model legible.
Materials: Base metal frame (tarnished gold-tone plating); tinted glass or plastic gradient lenses; plastic (acetate) temple tips. Technique: Assembled metal frame with screwed hinges; nose pads on arms; tinted gradient lenses.
Fair
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use
Hong Kong
Asia
production
The pairing of a "HONG KONG" origin stamp with Cyrillic lettering is characteristic of Hong Kong's large export trade in inexpensive consumer goods to the USSR and Eastern Europe.