【ZUTTO Special Order】Made with the same care as eyewear craftsmanship. KISSO accessories, crafted with time and attention to detail.

KISSO accessories have been part of the ZUTTO lineup for nearly ten years. Loved for their colorful, mood-lifting hues and gentle wearing comfort, they're a brand popular both as personal treats and as gifts.

This time, we visited KISSO in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, and searched among their many materials for a lovely pattern we thought ZUTTO customers would enjoy, creating a special order just for us. In this article, we'll share the labor-intensive manufacturing process, as well as our conversation with Mr. Kuita of KISSO, who helped us choose the pattern.

From Sabae, Where Tradition Meets Innovation

Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture is known nationwide as a center for eyewear production. Sabae's eyewear industry operates on a division-of-labor system, and as you drive through town, you'll spot eyewear-related companies and factories everywhere. About one in six people employed in Sabae work in the eyewear industry—it truly is a "town of eyeglasses."tesio sunglasses are also made in Sabae City.

KISSOO Co., Ltd., the company behind KISSO accessories, was also founded in Sabae in 1995 as a trading company supplying eyewear materials. The founder, Matsuro Yoshikawa, anticipated that eyeglasses made with titanium—a material considered difficult to work with at the time—would soon be produced in earnest in Sabae. He quickly set up a supply system for the material and brought state-of-the-art eyewear processing machinery from Italy, France, and Germany to Sabae.

Nearby are Echizen Town, known for Echizen urushi (Japanese lacquer) ware and Echizen washi (Japanese paper), and Takefu City, famous for Echizen forged blades, along with numerous textile factories dotting the area—it's truly a region devoted to craftsmanship. RENEW, the event ZUTTO participated in this year, is also held in this area. Every maker here seems to embrace a spirit of continually challenging themselves with new ideas while preserving the traditions of their craft, and KISSO accessories embody exactly this kind of fresh approach to making things, unbound by conventional notions of what eyewear materials are for.

About the Special Order Pattern

Here is the material ZUTTO chose for this special order.

We chose this pattern together with Mr. Kuita, who advised us as we looked through the many types of cellulose acetate stored in the warehouse.

Many of the materials kept here have been discontinued by their manufacturers and are no longer in production, and the one we chose this time is one of them. It's a material sourced for these accessories from the manufacturer's small remaining stock.

hair tie/ear cuff

ZUTTO:The pattern we chose this time has a mysterious look—somewhere between polka dots and checks. The color, which shifts from blue to purple depending on the angle, is also beautiful. The moment I saw it, I thought, "This is the one!" What made you recommend this color to ZUTTO?

Mr. Kuita:I'd always thought this was an interesting material. When you hold it up to the light like this, you can see all sorts of patterns, can't you? It has an iridescent quality, almost like a beetle's shell, and I loved how the color changes depending on the angle.

Mr. Kuita:The thing is, when a pattern like this is used for eyeglass frames, it inevitably gets narrowed down into thin strips, so the interesting character of the pattern doesn't really come through. But with accessories, you can show off a much larger surface area, so the pattern really gets to shine. That's why I recommended it.

ZUTTO:It's fascinating how the color changes depending on the viewing angle. And since the impression shifts between indoors and outdoors, you get to enjoy several different moods from a single piece—that's wonderful too.

ZUTTO:We also got to see many of your other materials, and I noticed a lot of colors and patterns rarely seen in Japanese eyewear. Do all of these come from Italy?

Mr. Kuita:Yes, everything used in KISSO accessories comes from a long-established Italian manufacturer called MAZZUCCHELLI. In Italy, eyewear is seen as part of fashion, so the range of colors and patterns is extremely rich. They release a lot of new patterns every year too.

ZUTTO:Among the manufacturers that make cellulose acetate for eyewear, what made you choose MAZZUCCHELLI in particular?

Mr. Kuita:Above all, it's the beauty of their colors and patterns. This particular pattern, in fact, is one that only MAZZUCCHELLI can make. It looks like a single sheet, but it's actually built up from many layers of pattern stacked one on top of another. Creating a pattern like this requires a high level of craftsmanship, and it's something other manufacturers simply can't replicate.

Using this special order pattern, we created three popular items.

Hair Tie/Ear Cuff/Pendant Loupe

Using this special-order pattern, we created three popular items: a "hair tie," a "pendant loupe," and an "ear cuff."

Ear Cuff/Pendant Loupe

Of course they look lovely worn on their own, but they also pair beautifully when combined. At first glance the colors seem understated, but they catch the light with a subtle sparkle whenever you move—accessories that blend in effortlessly with a chic outfit.

Another characteristic of KISSO accessories is that they are lightweight and sit comfortably against the skin. They're easy to pick up even for those who dislike the cold feel of metal, or for those who don't usually wear accessories, which makes them a welcome gift as well.

KISSO Accessories, Born from Handwork

The factory was renovated last year, and we were able to visit and see part of the manufacturing process. KISSO accessories are made from cellulose acetate, the same material used for eyeglass frames, and they go through the same process as eyeglasses. That process is divided among specialized workshops, making these accessories something that could only be produced in Sabae, Japan's famous eyewear-producing region.

Cellulose acetate arrives from Italy in sheet form. From there, it goes through a variety of processes before becoming a finished accessory.

Straightening the Cellulose Acetate

Cellulose acetate deforms at relatively low temperatures. When it first arrives, it's often warped or bent, so the first step is to apply pressure to make it straight and flat.

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Cutting Out the Shape of Each Accessory

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Barrel polishing to round off the edges and smooth the surface.

Sabae's eyeglass industry works on a division-of-labor system, and from this stage on, the work is carried out at partner factories.

For reference, this is the barrel polishing process we were shown at Taniguchi Megane, the maker of tesio. Frames are placed in a tank together with polishing compound and chips made of plastic, wood, or bamboo, and the tank is rotated so the frames rub against the compound and chips, resulting in a uniform, smooth surface.

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Bending and Fitting the Lens

Once the material returns to KISSO, additional parts are attached and bending is carried out for each accessory. On the day of our visit, they happened to be producing loupes. The lens processing is also carried out with great precision, checked meticulously with calipers.

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Final Polishing for Shine (Buffing)

The final glossing step is done using a buffing wheel—a disc made of felt or fabric—coated with polishing compound. This is what gives KISSO accessories their distinctive beautiful shine.

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Final Check for Small Scratches or Dents

Cellulose acetate is a material that softens with heat, making it easier to work with. Because of this, it's also more prone to scratches and dents during manufacturing compared to materials like plastic. In the final inspection, each piece is checked carefully, one by one, using a magnifying loupe.

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Complete!

KISSO accessories are made through the same process as eyeglass frames. Their beautiful shine emerges only after passing through many stages of careful work.