meh, the 600 on the C100 almost killed me. Can't keep this up.


and to finally address the original post, I don't know why it was so expensive, I never got many details.

Others like myself who have been a die-hard fan for over a decade and a half, have spent thousands of dollars across the board on ALL Oakley products, and who truly love & admire the company will be left out - simply because we're not filthy rich. I don't think that's cool. Not cool at all. In short, a perfect way for Oakley to completely alienate their biggest and longest-standing supporters.

i don't agree with this, even if you are rich, you can be a true die hard fan. it's like brent said, compare it to cars;
if you can afford a BMW 3 series, and not the 6 series, do you alienate from BMW ?

I have to see the JIGSAW in person, to tell if it is worth the money. and then decide wheter or not i will have it.

Dann is right. That Copper Romeo should be mine!

I agree with Nik. If anyone NOT in the highest tax brackets of the world would be getting these, it will be an OR member, if not the OR as a collective whole. It could be like a mascot.

Meh. I can probably skip it. Not because of money but because of the imminent gaudiness. I see a lot of jewels on the Elite series, since there's no way Oakley can produce anything with their current materials (O Matter, X-metal, C-5) that can command $1,400 to the general public, even if it is limited. Chrome Hearts can be able to do it, since they've got the cachet and an image they've built for a long time. Oakley is seen very differently in the public's eye.

I just hope to god it isnt the Chrome Hearts approach they will take with this. Some of it (like the frames with leather arms) looks quite cool but at the end of the day it looks like someone melted a bunch of lenny kravitz CDs and poured them into a sunglass frame mold.

Cool as Kravitz is, i dont fancy this stuff much.

On the other hand, we could take a look at another product which, much like Oakley, is intended for purchase by the discerning buyer.

Zero Halliburton. I just got a Z Series laptop case and this thing rocks. I could have got a laptop case for a tenth of the cost but, just like my Oakleys, I saw something a bit special in this which I wanted.

Now, after having said that, take a look at Halliburton's equivelant to the Elite Series:

http://www.zerohalliburton.com/business/carbon_fiber.jsp

i don't agree with this, even if you are rich, you can be a true die hard fan. it's like brent said, compare it to cars;
if you can afford a BMW 3 series, and not the 6 series, do you alienate from BMW ?

I have to see the JIGSAW in person, to tell if it is worth the money. and then decide wheter or not i will have it.

I certainly see Brent's point. But then again Oakleys & cars are not the best comparisons. Cars are far, far more complex (with many more parts) and far more costly - and always will be. Moreover, very few people collect cars or would have the opportunity to do so within the same scope that we collect Oakleys due to price. Ever heard of anyone with 100 or 200+ cars? Probably not. And there's a reason for that: the cost. People don't expect to be able to purchase that many cars, but just look at how many of us have already accumulated more than 100 pairs of Oakleys. And we all know there are many others out there who have large collections as well. Most of us - at one time or another (perhaps not always "immediately") - are able to afford the pair of Oakleys that we really want. Not so with cars, and it's not an expectation. I think Dann summed it up well when he mentioned that Oakley's still going to make more money by marketing with a lower profit margin to tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals vs a profit margin of thousands to a few select individuals. And if those affluent individuals are such fans, why aren't they members of this site? Out of their affluence... I wonder how many Oakleys they have or how much knowledge they have or how long they've been "true fans". My best guess, again, is that they simply want a $4,000 pair of shades to show off to the world, and wouldn't even be able to tell you the origins of the great company that we love or its founder if their lives depended on it. Sad.

The thing that you need to realize is everyone that has the "LOVE" for Oakley doesn't have to buy every pair of glasses that is released. And to be honest what we do(collect glasses) is probably not the most practical thing to do if you were to ask any random people. Most people have one maybe two pairs of sunglasses that they own. So I am all for them making something limited that everyone might not have the chance to get(I know I can't afford it and I am a dealer). The car comparison is really accurate in this case and I really like Freds point with BMW, just because you can afford to drive say a 328i, you should not hate or dislike the 750i because it is way out of your price league. You are still showing your loyalty to BMW. I totally can see where you are coming from, but I think this can open the brand up to sooo many more avenues, and more than likley generate more business from the regular lines with more people getting familar with the brand.

Meh. I can probably skip it. Not because of money but because of the imminent gaudiness. I see a lot of jewels on the Elite series, since there's no way Oakley can produce anything with their current materials (O Matter, X-metal, C-5) that can command $1,400 to the general public, even if it is limited.

way off in that one...No jewels

That better be some damn fine glasses if all that's selling it is the Oakley logo without jewels or gold/platinum.

high tech materials and things like that are probably the basis for a project like this. We only have seen cold coloring/plating, minor use of jewels in the past. I would imagine the Mad Science lab was going crazy... Maybe some ceramics like Nasa type stuff, or crazy composites like used in jet fighters..Who knows (except the higher ups and employees), but you can expect for that price tag, they will be the Bentley of Eyewear...

I'm getting excited about it just listening to you Josh!

Everyone makes good points. Which is why my stance is biased due to not being able to obtain one at those prices. I see Nike's point though, since I'm not entirely sure what the audience for these glasses is. Athletes, sponsored individuals. Or is Paris going to be wearing these like the free ones she got at a show. Even Lindsay Lohan got ahold of the Collectors Frogskins, while we're all scrambling to find them.

My hope is that Magnesium comes back. I like my Mag switches. I can only imagine the type of stuff they could dreate at that price point. Kevlar Composites, Ceramic coatings like Rado uses on their watches that won't scratch, you know...good stuff for the money.

Oakley hollywood PR division hooked up Hayden, Lindsay, etc with the frogskins

Sweet!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see what variations come out. I'm hoping for some Bright Tortoises, or maybe even bringing back Planet-X, Cobalt, and Gold-X

Edit: I clearly didn't read far enough up in this conversation. Elite series eh? I'm having trouble pulling the trigger on $200-$400 pairs so unless I want to have my balls removed by Michelle, I sadly can't hang with them.

Maybe, if they're successful, it'll at least raise the value of vintage/LTD's, if that even matters.

Oakley hollywood PR division hooked up Hayden, Lindsay, etc with the frogskins

my point exactly >:(

I am going to complete the Elite series. Mark my words.

I will be the first to own a foakley elite series, mark my words.

Well - let's not forget the electronics... 4K for an actual HDHUD might not be so unrealistic...

I dunno - it's kinda scary and exciting at the same time... We are now moving into the realm of Lux.... 'Red Shift' was just that - Jim is out... gone...

Brace yourselves...

maybe , just maybe, you'll get a RED camera AND an oakley for that price......

If you dig in the Private Topic, the red shift logo was created a while ago before the Lux takeover.

I guess that kinda makes it 'ironical' then... Sure seems to fit what happened.

Just snooping around and I thought I would dredge this one up. bmcaps said that the elite series was probably going to be released some time in 2008.

Seeing as there is exactly one month left and there has not been a sniff of elite mentioned lately (that I know of, have been real busy) I was wondering if this has been sh1tcanned along with the economy or if anyone has heard anything else in the last year.

Fingers crossed

I'm not sure if bmcaps is the best resource to trust.