Charmant launches its new brand Minamoto

The Charmant Group has launched a new brand, Minamoto, inspired by Japanese craftsmanship and the eyewear group’s heritage.

Meaning ‘origin,’ Minamoto designs will emphasise tradition, minimalism and longevity.

With the company’s head office and factory based in Sabae, Fukui prefecture, which Charmant describes as the “birthplace” of the Japanese eyewear industry, the company has said that craftsmanship and history play a key role in the new brand. Inspiration was also drawn from a collection of historical spectacles owned by the founder of Charmant.

The brand draws influence from the Japanese Zen philosophy of minimalism and also aims to convey the Japanese theory of ‘ai-chaku’ – an affection for things used for a long time, describing the approach as: “Products that retain their value and even become more beautiful with time.”

“The Minamoto brand frees itself from the superfluous, to return to the essence of eyewear,” the brand suggested. “Authenticity, comfort, high quality, finesse, unsurpassed attention to detail and beauty are the true values.”

The eyewear will be made from 99.4% Japanese titanium, as well as beta titanium for flexibility and comfort.

The frames will also feature the Minamoto logo, a Japanese kanji hand-drawn by a master calligrapher, on the titanium end tips.

The company shared: “The frames are for everyone, regardless of age and gender, who wants authenticity and quality.”

The eyewear will be provided in a case made from handcrafted washi paper, produced by a small family business in Fukui prefecture, where the product has been made by hand for 1500 years. The cases each feature a pattern called ‘Sumi-Nagashi,’ made using a calligraphy brush, with no two patterns the same.

Releasing a campaign video to support the launch of the new brand, which features a Samurai as a “symbol of precision” and Geisha to represent “the timeless beauty of the frames and their unique elegance and style,” the company hinted that the collection reveal will be coming “soon.”