A variety of titanium alloy is currently used in eyewear to provide users with a wearing comfort, flexible beta titanium and Nickel Titanium alloy with shape memory well known among them. They were developed for products other than eyewear and none of them offer the same characteristics as Excellence Titan does. Titanium in general is not a very flexible material, it was also developed for use in products other than eyewear due to its lightness, strength and durability and the fact that it is completely nickel free.
In the course of continuing improvement of various techniques such as processing of titanium to produce eyewear with better wearing quality, The Charmant Group had the inspiration that the ideal optical frame could only be realized by using the most suitable material for such product. That meant that the material itself needed to be developed.
After an eight-year joint research journey with Tohoku University, the world authority of Metallurgical Research, having aimed to develop the ideal material, reached new heights in eyewear technology with the creation of Excellence Titan.
With this revolutionary material the ideal benefit, an embracing gentle touch and long lasting wearing comfort was realized for eyewear.
What has made the ideal benefits of Excellence Titan and eyewear come together was the precision laser welding technique, a cutting edge technique established by our five years of collaboration with the Joining & Welding Research Institute of Osaka University and the Fukui Prefecture Industrial Support Center.
The precision laser welding technique, which was born from another collaboration is able to join extremely fine parts directly, using no medium material that could cause possible breakage. It is an ideal solution in eyewear manufacturing that requires highly precise processing capability. It gives a high-strength welding and beautiful finish to fine eyewear, without causing any problems. The typical method would cause problems such as the loss of the metals original characteristics.
It can precisely weld together metal pieces which are less than 1mm
The Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award, a commendation from the Prime Minister of Japan which is sponsored by the Japanese government, recognized our achievements that added premium value to the optical frame through the success of the development of the Excellence Titan and the innovative laser micro-welding technique.
The Special Prize in the Product and Technological Development Category was given jointly to the 9 members of the development team including Prof. Akihisa Inoue (Special Senior Advisor to the President, former President of Tohoku University) and Prof. Seiji Katayama (Osaka University) in addition to Charmant employees.
The achievement is embodied in the eyewear of Group's signature brand LineArt CHARMANT and the top-of-the range brand, CHARMANT-Z.
"Monozukuri" is an ancient Japanese word and in recent years has been used to express the unique tradition and spirit of Japanese production/crafting/manufacturing, "mono"=things and "zukuri"=making. It is the foundation of the Japanese culture and industries and has greatly contributed to shaping the quality of life for the Japanese people.
The Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award
The Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award is an award program sponsored by the Japanese government, established in 2005 with the aim to create a solid foundation to continue inheriting the "Monozukuri" craft, and to support further developments.
The award is given with the cooperation of four ministries – the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Since then, outstanding works have been awarded every two years with the "Prime Minister Prize" and the "METI (the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry) Minister Prize". Furthermore, remarkable accomplishments have been given the "Special Prize" and "Outstanding Prize".
http://www.monodzukuri.meti.go.jp/