This is a thing that has been bothering me for some time now. I am sure it must have been discussed somewhere on the forum already. But I can't find it...

Often there is a lot of talk about the different generations of X-metals, but to me the real differences aren't really clear. I know we have the serialized and non-serialized X-metals.

But when we get to the juliet for example there is a first and second gen serialized version. Then the 3rd gen. will be the non-serialized ones and the 4th gen. must be the ones with the newest boxes and coins. But what are the other differences to distinguish these different generations?

I don't think 4th+ generations (or 3rd+ gens, depending on the frame) have been discussed in all that much detail. "Generations" tend to follow the coatings or changes in frame material, but generally speaking the very last serialized versions tend to be pretty much the same makeup as the subsequent non-serialized version. Since that's the case, not much chatter on them. That said, I suppose if there's a concensus, there could be assignment of generations to the non-serialized stuff (ie. 4th gen is frame with absolutely no etchings; 5th gen has parts # and frame sizing etchings, etc.).

Generations in any form are sort of defined by the collectors. In Oakley's eyes, they don't often care, and even things like the A Wire and Straight Jackets were re-released under the same name, and as long as there wasn't a currently marketed model with the same name, there was no attempt to differentiate.

In terms of X-Metals, the most often 'generation' is the coatings on the Plasma and Titanium frames. For me, generations have to be defined by something concrete and tangible, which is why I never bought into the ruby generations. Aside from 'looks', there wasn't anything solid.

The frame coatings on original Plasma and Titanium were often ruined by sweat and moisture. They would turn black and discolored, so Oakley set out to fix them. Early releases had a more matte and gold finish, while modern is smooth and silver. Now this is somewhat concrete, but the things that makes it more official (and even to Oakley), are the serials. You will notice some ending in 'A' or 'B'. 'A' is gen 2, and 'B' is gen 3. Gen 1 has no suffix naturally since if they knew enough to add 'A' from the start, they would have just fixed the frames to begin with. At a certain point barberp noticed that some colorways debuted with the new frames, and had no serial suffixes, so those never had generations. They were released late enough to not have the coating issues.

Now the second way we could define generations would be the recent Hydrophobic releases of Juliet and X-Metal XX. This again is concrete since the SKU's were changed, and the boxes had a new coin (in addition to price changes and the lens coating). I wouldn't consider the serials vs non-serials a generation, although some may argue that. Perhaps Serial is Gen 1, non-serial is Gen 2, and Hydrophobic is Gen 3. It would be a good argument, but really down to semantics at that point. Also not every frame had these changes, so it would be unique per model.

I guess in the end, 'generations' should really be specified as to what it references. Model or Frame. I'd never say Gen 1 Juliet, because per above, this could mean an early plasma frame, or anything with a serial. But some always had a gen 3 frame, even in the serial run, so it could cause a lot of confusion.

Confusion that's been an uphill fight for almost 10 years now, hehe.

Thanks, that's quite a clear write-up there. Just damn all those collectors with all their strange definitions about generations...

I have always thought that all those Oakley collectors are some strange kind of people...

Devil's in the details.

There are more variations of collector definitions than Ruby has shades of red. I will proclaim however that the OR's definitions are 1st Generation with a solid shade of truth (and purple hues).

The release of the plasma ice polarized was the transition from first gen plasma to second. This is known due to some second gen frames not having an A on them. And higher serials having a first gen frame...

Gotcha, was hoping you remembered that detail. Thanks.

this is the "method" i use. the plasma line is the easiest to understand the changes.

1st - 'bone' matte white, serial P 123456
2nd - dull satin silver, serial P 123456 A
3rd - bright satin silver (more "polished"), serial P123456B
(in some cases, there is a "C" generation in here)
4th - Serial numbers dropped. frame surface stays fairly similar
5th - Slight change in hue, but finish is same. frame sizes stamped at serial location (left arm)

so knowing what generation a certain pair is (by number, ie, first, second, etc) you need to know how many generations of that specific colorway were made. Eg the XG's ran with 1st, A, B and no serial. but the plasma juliet (in some iterations) had up to 6 generations. - so a "blank frame" isnt a specific generation for that model, but represents a specific generation according to time.

That makes sense. I think if there's a solid reasoning behind the generational differences, it makes a stronger case.

Some interesting stuff right there guys, keep it coming!

it makes sense that by "4th gen" (dropped serials altogether) they had most of the discoloration issues worked out in gen3, and they dropped the serials just because they were producing in alot larger quantities. kind of a shame really..

also, I frequently refer to the frames with frame size on the arms as "Last gen".

so looking at it from 2 perspectives you can be anal like me, and split the different "Gens" everytime something changes, OR, call everything from "B" serial onwards "Gen 3".

If I had to draw a line in the sand, I think the 'last gen' and then everything else would be the main two groups. New box, new markings, new sku's, new lenses.