Fine Arts Optical

I love this place! Lisa was incredibly helpful. My glasses are fantastic and I picked up a pair of funky frames for my grandma that she couldn’t be happier with. I will definitely come back the next time I am in SF!

This is glasses heaven if you love color! They will actually dye your glasses, shade by shade, sometimes using two or three hues to create one of a kind frames. They can leave the texture of the frames shiney and eye popping, or sand them to create elegant matte textures. Choices range from playful saturated colors, to elegant tortoise shell, and include everything in between. Throw in carefully designed shapes with subtle design details and thee MOST accommodating staff ever and you have a perfect description of this artisan eyewear studio. It is worth a trip just to oogle at all the pretty colors.
Take a friend or two because you are certain to find more than one pair you want to wear and you will need someone to pull you back to earth (tho the frames are relatively inexpensive compared to many designer lines)
Fine Arts Optical –thank you for elevating wearing glasses from contact-​lens-​relief to an art form.

Paid $ 295 for a pair of cool glasses the sales person said were designed by a Japanese designer and implied they were manufactured in the USA. It was an impulse buy so I didn’t notice that on the inside of one are it said «Italy design». From my experience that is what is labeled on products made in China but want to give the impression of being manufactured in Europe or the USA. I emailed Fine Arts several times and also called them and they never responded to my repeated emails. When I called, a pompous, omnipotent lady said most of their glasses are made in the USA and many are vintage that don’t have the county of manufacture. She had no answer for where my «Italy Design» $ 295 glasses were made and made no effort to help me. I was told half truths and mislead by this company and spent a pretty penny for glasses I really like but would never have purchased if I had any idea they may have been made in China. Who ever owns this company must not care about customer service or integrity. At least that’s my experience as no one at that company tried to help me or answer my questions which leads me to believe that my assumption of «MADE IN CHINA» is correct. Just ask a lot of questions, really look at the glasses and be a discerning customer, unlike me, so you don’t have buyers remorse.
I also asked the lady on the phone if I bought a pair of glass today and it said «Italy Design» and I asked her where it was manufactured, what would she say? She hemmed and hawed and didn’t have an answer. I just bought a nice pair of designer glasses from
for $ 30 delivered (that’s probably what the glasses I bought from Fine Arts Optical are really worth! Check it out, but beware of Fine Arts Optical!!!

Hands down the best experience buying glasses I’ve ever had — and I buy a lot of glasses. I came up from LA and wasn’t expecting to acquire a new pair, but Lisa found the perfect pair for me and oh, did I mention she is a total DOLL?! Both Lisa and Amy are so cool, so knowledgable, honest, easy-​going and have great taste. The bar has been set! I guess I’m flying up to SF for glasses from now on.

First– I’ve never found a pair of glasses that fit me (ie face, eye shape, bridge) so I was super excited to stumble on this store a month ago and found 4 pairs I could die for. I returned weeks later and narrowed down my choices and purchased a pair within 30 min. Lisa was busy with another client but pitched in comments every and then. I would say this store is pricey if you’re used to purchasing glasses through your insurer/​HMO but man they have nice items! It took 5 business days to receive and I’m sure he’ll be in a day early

My third pair of frames in this eclectic shop that has the best selection of frames I have ever seen. I absolutely adore the staff scott, lisa, and the owner Ray are some of the finest people you could come across. I have traveled extensively and never have I found such a diverse selection of unique frames. The staff will work to customize a pair just for you. Whether they dye a pair or create a new style just to best suit your face they are unbelievably good. I will be return.

Lisa is fantastic! I came in looking at the horn collection the store offers, which whilst I’m in love with them are totally out of my range. Once i told Lisa my budget, she was quick to act pulling out a half dozen frames that it my tastes right off the bat with a number of different finishes. She also offered a lot of information with how the design team operates, which made me even more of a fan of what i was getting. I didn’t leave with the frames i initially wanted, but I did leave getting a set that will still be crafted and babin’ nonetheless.
I plan to come back for the frames I still have my heart set on in the future.

The best collection of vintage eyeglasses and frames! A little pricey but if you have a chance to buy go for it! I bought my vintage glasses and extremely happy with the quality and style.
Also they have great hats collection, I purchased one and am happy with it!
The stuff is nice and helpful!

I had divine service here from start to finish. I even asked the associate for her name because she was so good and I wanted to give her a shout-​out. So, shout-​out to Lisa. When I purchase something as personal as glasses (hello, they’re all up in my face all day) I like to take my sweet time and ask a lot of questions. Lisa was so patient and happy to help. While I was there, one of the owners arrived and he joined us and gave me some suggestions as to the best eyewear for me. They like totally catered to me, honestly, and how often are you totally catered to? Anywayssss, love my glasses and the overall experience.

Extremely expensive, poor customer service, and they don’t take ANY insurance (no VSP, nothing!!). They also do not offer eye exams, which is not mandatory for an eyeglass frame store, but usually pretty helpful.
The hipster working here acted as though we were bothering him by asking him to show us frames, answer questions about pricing, or give other important information. He’d grudgingly hand us glass frames, then immediately wander away, back to his desk. It’s not like he was helping any of the other customers in the store, either. He simply was doing his own thing at the counter, ignoring all of us until we had to awkwardly go back over to him and ask for more help. It was actually kind of a surreal experience! It wasn’t like he was overtly rude, but he just didn’t really seem interested in selling us anything. Maybe we didn’t look cool enough to wear any of the frames they carry in the store?
While I’d read a lot of hooplah on their website about how they have this super-​fancy selection of frames, when I got there, I was underwhelmed. Sure, there were some more eclectic frames, but a lot of those were way too flamboyant for the average person to wear to work, or even in general in public, unless you want to be constantly stared and pointed at! Of the more everyday style frames, most were really big, covering a lot of my face, and a little too hipster for me. They also generally ranged from $ 300 – 450, or at least the ones that I was shown. In the age of Warby Parker, that’s a LOT of money for frames that really didn’t look or feel like they were such good quality/​style that they would warrant such steep prices.
But regardless of all that, my main beef with this business was the poor service. If you are too cool to assist the customers at your business, how on EARTH do you stay in business???
As for me, rather than spending $ 550 – 600 on a pair of glasses, I’d rather shop somewhere else where I can use my vision plan AND get good service!

I went here yesterday for the first time. They were wonderful. I need new glasses about every 4 or 5 years. I’ve known for a while that it’s been time to get a new pair but I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. Glasses are so expensive. They have a great selection of really high end glasses but also a wonderful selection of reasonable ones as well. They were really patient with my indecisiveness. They eventually helped me find the perfect pair. I ended up getting a frame I never would have normally considered. I’m so excited to wear my new glasses and I never thought that would come out of my mouth!

First off, Fine Arts Optical has the most amazing selection of unique and beautiful frames I have ever seen. I am sad that I only discovered them a few months before I moved out of state to WA. I purchased a pair of glasses made out of horn and they are a beautiful dark brown (almost chocolate)/black color with hints of another color that looked like butter … maybe a quick bit of beige or crème too. Hard to describe, but my favorite pair purchased so far for sure. Super friendly staff … fun & modern store located on Valencia amongst all the other cool shops on that street … loved them and said to my husband, «I have found my last pair of glasses!» Okay, a bit «over the top» but how I was feeling at the time over my new purchase. Fast forward and I have now moved out of state, but I meant to write a review back when I purchased them just about a year or so ago now and didn’t. So here I am making up for lost time. If you want a unique pair of frames, you have to visit them. I know you won’t regret it and you will love the staff. And kudos especially to Santos as he’s awesome!!!
Missing San Francisco and was thinking about the cool stops in SF that I wish were here in the North West. SF, you are lucky to have Fine Arts Optical and Seattle would love for you to open up one here! (Hint, hint! Ha!)

If you are looking for a very hip place to buy some optical’s, you hit the right place. You won’t find the frames located at this store, anywhere else in San Francisco, besides their sister stores. That being said, you will find the exact same frames online for a quarter of the price. Seriously!
I thought I found a diamond in the rough when I first bought my pair of frames from here. Even though the initial cost was outrageous, I have a groupon that evened out the price to being pretty «typical» SF prices. I think they were selling for 350 dollars in store and the guy that sold me that pair, told me that this was manufactured by Fine Arts Optical and all the production was done offsite.
Well, I lost my pair of glasses a few months ago, and I’ve been rigorously searching for a replacement pair. I’ve looked far and wide, at brick and mortars and also on the beautiful interwebs. I was all but ready to cave in an go back to Fine Arts Optical to repurchase these very expensive frames but what do you know… My frames appeared on my pinterests homepage!
Too my surprise, I immediately clicked on the frames. These looked exactly the same, same material, same finish, same design. The frames were exactly the same. And lastly, they are only $ 119.00 dollars from the manufacture. Well, I ordered my frames last night and I will be paying Fine Arts Optical an in person visit to understand why they blatantly LIED to me about the production of these frames. I don’t even care about the price mark up but you definitely shouldn’t lie to your customers about manufaturing!!!

Holy crap, this place is awesome! I happen to wander past Fine Arts Optical yesterday, while walking around in the Mission area, and I’m so glad I did! They have the largest collection of «new» vintage glasses in the U.S. Yay! I tried some on and fell in love with some cat eye frames. I haven’t purchased them yet, but plan on it.
They are able to custom dye the eyeglasses for you, which is great! Friendly service and knowledgeable staff! If you want cool and unique looking specs that no one else has, check this place out.

I am so unbelievably happy with my glasses. I did spend an insane amount of money on them but they’re completely worth it. So they’re crafted from the horn of Mongolian water buffalo and they change color from one eye to the next: ivory to ebony. They’re light and very comfortable which is notable for me as I have very poor vision (–6.5 & –3.75). They’re more than just glasses though, they really are a piece of art!

Super helpful.
Great selection.
I’ve been told no more than 10 times in the last week that my glasses look great.
They won’t have your standard run of the mill glasses, so this place is only good for those unique pairs you’re trying super hard to find.
Given their limited frame runs, I can see how much of a pain it would be for them to deal with insurance. I just ran it through with my insurance company and it was fine. They itemized my receipt for me and everything was OK.
I am going back this week for another pair. They’re just way too awesome.

I wish I would have stumbled into here before I got my current pair of frames. Amazing new — old stock and high on my list American Made.
What you won’t find here:
1. Consumer crap
2. Inept staff
3. Walmart brands
Having styles that go back to the 1920’s, made with modern materials and supporting the San Francisco economy, it’s all good. Did I mention that these folks also manufacture locally? More SF jobs, a great thing.
A master wood worker share the space. Custom furniture and special orders with craftsmanship that is unbelievable.
High marks on customer service and quality.

I have been wearing glasses since I was 7 years old and have a very high prescription, and it is so hard to find something that will handle my coke bottle lenses and actually look good at the same time! I really appreciated my experience with the 2 guys that helped me 2 Sundays ago pick out my new 1960s vintage frames. They were patient with my indecisiveness, and really took the time to find something that fit me perfectly. I’m all about comfort and I couldn’t be happier. My lenses turned out great. If they can make my lenses look good, they really know what they are doing.
Thanks dudes!

An afternoon of eyewear adventures can be yours with a ridiculous selection of vintage and contemporary frames, many designed by the proprieters themselves. After dozens of years collecting unsold frames in their warehouse, they have dusted off the vintage stock and put it back on the shelves at premium prices. The bargain shopper may be bummed, but the eyewar collector is sure to find a pair they just can’t do without.
I bought a pair of lovely cat eye frames, and told the guys about my favorite pair that needed new arms. They had me bring in the broken glasses, and scoured the warehouse for arms to match. After less than 2 weeks, and for only $ 40 I got my beloved glasses repaired, and I learned more about their construction than I expected.
If I have money to burn (like flexible spending dollars) on glasses, I will invest in another pair of high fashion frames from Fine Arts Optical.
They sadly do not accept insurance, but will still give you a VSP discount (I got 20% off). I was able to get a tiny reimbursement from VSP and use Flexible Spending dollars for the rest.

This is regarding the store on Valencia street…
The two guys there were a bit rude or just not very helpful and missing the retail etiquette of hi’s/ thank you’s upon entering/​exit.
I asked about Oliver people’s glasses and they almost seemed insulted.
I get the high brow thing but come on, have some manners and be helpful, especially in a service oriented biz.
Don’t accept eye insurance.