That last line has been there since the introduction of the Penny in 2001. The descriptions don't always change.

But if they didn't specifically change it maybe that means they're going to do S/N's. I noticed the Juliet description doesn't have that line so maybe they had a lot of S/Ned Pennys left over

All of the later released Polished/Black and Titanium/Ice Penny's didn't have serials, so I doubt these will either. But, you never know with these guys. They did do a serial for the new Ichiro's.

So obviously the laser still works

Of course, but really, there's no need for serial numbers. The limited editions have been issued so there's no chance of getting one of those. I don't know, I just don't understand this odd need for serial numbers. Sure, they're neat, but if they're not there it doesn't make them bad glasses. They're not a neccesity, which is probably why Oakley removed them from production.

Well.... if this "new" x-metal/ruby juliet has NO laser edging, NO awesome red/purple lenses and is visible online (what means for me that these are not that limited) and they would still take 425USD, 90USD more than the Ichiro Em Slate (WITH laser edging and awesome, rare lenses)... than I'm really disapponted. Because... you can repeat speaking about the 1000 Iridium layers, producing them can't be that expensive. Other brands solved that very well (even cheap ass brands like alpina have very nice red lens).

(Btw - I call the ichiro lenses "rare" because there only 4 shades out there with them and 2 of them are signatures. Ruby is much more common.)

I've always wondered that too. Why can you go into any gas station & see lenses that are so awesomely red but Oakley can't seem to do it anymore? Personally, I think they may have gone about it the wrong way in the first place & now they're sticking to the same formula but aren't putting as much effort into it. The result is what we see today. & as far as batches go, you'll have a hard time convincing me that a company that has produced 10's of millions of lenses can't consistently reproduce the intended color on this one lens (& it's not even the same color as the lens it was meant to replicate) & if it is such an unpredictable, difficult to control coating, why continue to use it & risk dissapointing the customer?

Its just plain strategy :)

in my opinion oakley is de-volving, becoming a victim of their own sucess, In the older days each one fo their products was a masterpiece. It had its own unique serial number and the quality was superb. Now with a greater demand, oakley is, instead of continuing to produce masterworks that would not meet the demand level, producing more crap to satisfy the needs of a larger market, and in doing so producing sunglasses that are simply not on par with their old ones. They cut costs (serial numbers / red lenses) in favor of making a larger profit, and in doing so ruining their company image and to a degree taking away the exclusivity of their product,

open season, feel free to call me a punk and a dumbass but thats what i think is goin on.

Hey Justin, you dumbass punk! I'll hold him down. Anyone else want a shot?

I would take a shot, but this time Justin is right. Did I just say that? Yes, Justin is RIGHT!

Oh my god! Hold on *thumbs through stolen hotel bible* That's the fifth sign of the appocalypse!

That's the smartest thing I've read coming out from u Justin! I didnt know u're that smart!! =)

I think it's funny that serialed X-Metals are considered to be from the 'older days'. That was, what, 18 months ago? 2 years?

X-Men first movie was out in year 2000, so is it not 5-6 yrs ago??

He was referring to the last of the serialed X-Metals in general, not the X-Men LE Juliets.

But it CAN'T BE just the costs!

With the release of all the new cheap o-matters (fives, twitch canteen etc.) and also some cheap metal shades (spike, dart) I thought oakley gives some of their success back to the customers... and now this bullshit.
The ruby fives 3 costs 90-100 usd. That's the usual 20USD+ for a signature edition. So why 100 Usd instead of 20?
I hope these X3 rubys come with a ichiro-x-metal-like double serial, a very nice box or/and anything else that's worth so much money...

(have I mentioned that I do not have a ruby juliet so far)
....

Oh ok.... I didnt know that to be honest :) And Julien, are u ordering a pair then?? =) I really cant wait to see how these new X-Metal/Ruby will look like!!!

I agree with Justin.
Case in point is the Romeo 2. The black irridium lens is not as dark as in previous styles.
I was very disappointed in them because of the lens.

Jake- Thankfully im alot smarter then i look/act

I think we'll have to see how these new lenses would look. As far as serial numbers go, I am fairly certain that people who have seen the movie and want a pair of them kick-arse shades wouldn't really mind some missing serial number.

Iggy has a good point, that re-release is aimed mainly at movie lovers, x-men fan, cyclops fans etc and less hardcore Oakley fans I think.

Justin is right. The quality of Oakley has been on a downtrend. I can't blame them for trying to pursue profit goals since this is the instinctive nature of publicly listed companies. The bottomline matters to anaylst, stockholders and ultimately the people running the firm.

What I fail to understand is the inconsistent batches that are being shipped out of their factories for sale. People I know used to be envious whenever someone in our community gets an Oakley. Now we are only envious of others when they get a brand new Oakley that doesn't have any defects. I'm quite sure that I'm not the only one around who has heard of a BNIB Oakley having some type of imperfection, especially in the X metal series. Makes me wonder if the X metal facility is really built to handle a spike in demand without compromising quality.

I was thinking today as I gassed up my car: how is Oakley dealing with the rising price of oil? All of the plastics Oakley uses depend on oil, not to mention the massive power needed to supply energy for the X-Metal production facility. Perhaps this has helped push the prices up across the board?

I have been debating all day whether to buy the ruby juliets or pennys and if they're gonne be as good as my "gen 1" juliets, but after just coming back from seeing X-Men 3, I just did a impulse buy and bought the ruby pennys off the website, hopefully I won't have to send them back...