Remember the first time you saw the serial number on an X-metal? Pretty cool, eh? It was a unique little feature on unique products that added that little something special. You always wanted the lowest possible number you could find.

Then they discontinued SNs.

Now they're bringing it back, but I can't seem to get excited about it anymore. It's now put on black frames and grey lens combos and called "limited edition", denoted by "L1" after the parts number. I recently received a Will Barras Monte and found that the SN didn't add or detract from the product; it's a beautiful product, and it wouldn't change my purchase decision at all if the SN didn't exist. Quite a difference from what it used to be.

So, are serial numbers still relevant to you? Would SNs mean more to you on certain products than others (ie. X-metals vs. Wires vs. O Matter)?

To quickly answer your question: No. Once they were discontinued on the X-Metals they no longer held any significance for me. Any serial numbered pair in the current line-up is too gimmicky for me.

I think they do to a degree on certain pairs of metals. what killed it for Oakley, and continually is killing trends, is that they can't stop!! They take what drives a lot of us and just drown the market with it. Take for example the DF2...There were only supposed to be less than 100 pairs leak out through the events at the local stores and then they were pulled before/as they were released. Why then did varied serial numbers show up all over the board and ebay?? Oh, and then they got this cool idea to add the "L1" thing on us, make people chase the number, and then stop it. There was nothing special, supposed to only be exclusive to the 1st 100 and then it went away. It really doesn't matter.

Especially o Matter...I think the number was only a "Print Order" on the labeler. You can't certify any one single pair on the O Matter stuff to be sequential with anything. They told us if there was excessive flaws in a batch, the whole batch would be gone, but then that would put them out of order, right??? Serials are useless unless they are physically on the frame, have some bearing on things, and are important to the buyer...

Couldn't agree more Josh.

what killed it for Oakley, and continually is killing trends, is that they can't stop!! They take what drives a lot of us and just drown the market with it.

That’s an approach most companies use. Find something successful and then milk it until it’s dry. The funny thing is that when companies try to create collectibles, the market eventually pushes back. In the end, it’s the overlooked items that end up being the collectible.

When they were on the X-Metals, I was never worried about how low/high the number was, but just the fact they came with a unique number made serial numbers somewhat special to me. That this pair you owned was the only pair in the world that had that number etched on the arm was pretty cool.

I bought a pair of Polished/Slate Ichiros at the end of 2005 and there is no serial number on the arm, which even led me to question if they were genuine Ichiros. They still look great, but not having the serial on them brings them down a little in my eyes.

I don't know why they stopped etching them on X-Metals - to me they're the only line of sunglasses that the serial number just 'fits'. This new serial number thing on the O-matters is of little interest to me and as Josh says, somewhat imcomprehensible in their application.

To answer your question - they matter for X-Metals, and new models should have serial numbers etched on them. Wires and O-Matter should not be serialised.

I love it when companies actually name products "collector's items". My Dad had a '79 Lincoln Continental "Collector's Series". Said that right on the car! Lame. Collectors should at least have the power to deem the products as collector's items or not.

The one thing I always find funny is the fact they put serials on anything now except the watches???? The maker of the Tanks and all the Swiss produced watches puts them on all of theirs, why not the Oakley?? That is one piece that absolutely should have one. Rado, Rolex, Tag, Movado, all of them serial the watches. Comes in handy for inventory and theft recovery, should one be put in that position...They will print some BS number on an artist, I mean signature pair (Foose), but leave them off the watches...Odd to me...

Even cars...How do we know that the VIN plate was actually produced in line with the vehicle's production sequence? Really?? I am sure they had stacks of plates/labels ready to be applied...When a car fails paint spec, do they pull that number and set it aside for repaint to stay in order?? Doubtful...

To me, they really only matter on X-Metals and High End Oakley Watches. I don't give a rat's behind on anything else.

I also don't think it really matters at all.
Whats more important the glasses themselves or the number imprinted on them. In the end the only person who knows is you.

How does this seem then... i recently purchased a pair of Will Barris, got them for an amazing price (through Oakley not ebay)didn't really look to close at them till i got back home, and on the earstem it says SMPL as in Sample.
Now i don't have a serialized pair and the card that states it
But are they any less. I first i thought yes but then i realized that they are unique in there own way, possibly one of the first pairs made which puts it before any of the serialized ones they are 1 of ???? not 1 of 2500.
In the end i got these for a good price would i pay extra to have a number on them No.

As for the x-metals i guess it's handy in identifying batches and such.

To add Josh's first post sums it up very well.

Bring back serial numbers on watch cases and movements would be a good idea.

I dont think it matters on items when theres more than 100 or so of them.

Its a nice added touch but not very important in my eyes.

I could care less about these new, number releases. Beyond the #, there's nothing great to make them unique.

I agree - the new limited edition #'s mean nothing to me - very gimmicky...they only matter on watches and X Metals IMHO.

Serial numbers bugger things up, if it's not done with a purpose. Ford's Ichiro story, for example. I have an "X-Metal Juliet Ducati" that has no serial number, so I often wonder if it was a Frankenstein pair.

If the serial number is used for a reason such as inventory or tracking, then they're fine. From a collector's standpoint, I could care less.

They do look cool on the X-Metals, though. =)


~Yukio

as far as new models go i really dont care about the serial number but when i am buying x-metals i would prefer them to be a serial numbered pair.

I think the serial numbers lately add up to little more than a "oh, cool" sort of feeling. Maybe a "oh, neat" if it comes with a certificate.

Maybe slight exception to the DF2 that had the serial numbers imprinted on the inside hinge. That is sorta cool and neat.

Same goes for the xmetals, too. IMO, I think they should cap the xmetal serial at 10,000. Anything above that, and who gives?

The S/Ns don't matter much to me but I still think it's cool that all the labels are still numbered sequentially. I recently bought some old Nitro Mater stickers & even those labels are individually numbered

They were nice when it wasn't a big deal, just something extra. I didn't really have any low numbers, but I had a few pairs with a full house number (a double and triple digit combo). Things like that were fun to find.

Any "666" pairs? =P


~Yukio

To me, when a company starts marketing something as a collectible....it no longer is. It's not up to them to tell us what's collectible. We ultimatly decided, unknowingly most of the time.

Just to let you know, My DF2's had no serial number. They were leaked out by a former employee before they got pulled. Does they mean mine are more special because they don't have a serial number? I don't think so, but some would thinks so. To me it's up to the individual collector.

It would take a machine capable of powering a galaxy to give me the energy to care any less about serial numbers on anything. I tend to wear the less-popular models just 'cause I get a kick out of knowing I won't see another person wearing 'em on a given day. Doesn't mean a damn thing to me if it has a little number etched in there, too.