Found My X-Metal Romeo 1 Circa 1997-ish

[saunterer]

Scouring the internet, I found this forum and figured that you all could help me out. Glad to see a bunch of optics enthusiasts and such a knowledgeable group.

So here's the deal. I'm going through some boxes in the basement, and I find my old Romeo's. I think I bought them back in 1997 or so, and I know I haven't worn them in about 10 years. I'm super excited to possibly start wearing them again since they fit my noggin so well.

The frames, nose pieces, ear socks are in superb shape and do not need replacing. The gaskets that hold the frame/lenses in were gone many years ago, so I made new ones out of an old bicycle inner tube (kinda janky but it works) and the lenses need replacing.

So here are my questions to the forum....

• Should I even restore these and wear them as my daily sunglasses?
• If it going to cost me $100 to get them back to almost brand new, should I just save them for collectible purposes to fund my retirement and just get a new pair of sunglasses?
• If yes, does Oakley have replacement parts? (Reading around it is probably hit or miss and there is an Oakley store near me)
• If I have to go aftermarket, are there any vendors that are trusted? Seems that all I am finding are the same people all over EBay and there are mixed reviews.

The serial number on mine are 039226 if that helps or makes any difference.

Thanks a bunch,

Chris

 

[JayMann]

You could do all of this... Yes you can get them repaired... yes you can sell them on... Yes you could wear them as a daily pair but i wouldn't they're to nice for that

I think you can still send R1's in to Oakley for a repair/tune up it's £27.50 in the UK not to sure how much it is in the US but they is for best service you'll get as all parts will be original and not 3ed party

 

[JayMann]

Oh and do you still have all the bits that go with them like the Box, Paper work and collectors coin?

 

[saunterer]

Oh and do you still have all the bits that go with them like the Box, Paper work and collectors coin?

Nah, I only have the original microfiber bag/cleaning cloth.

 

[JayMann]

Well you could still cash them in if you wanted to.

 

[Mikey]

Hi and welcome to the Forum! How cool to find buried treasure like that. Those will have good collection value but even more so if you have the whole set with box and coin. However, they're such a cool frame it's definitely worth getting them restored for wearing on occasion.
I just went to One Icon on Friday and they don't really have much for the R1 as its been retired for so long. Spare rubber is about all they had to give me but I'm sure they have screws stashed away too (except the R2 orbital screws!). For lenses you have some options here as we have a few members who do custom lens cutting using Oakley donor lenses to ensure you're getting the best optics out there. InfiniteHero and Dr. Chop do great work with this. Going with aftermarket lenses is quite frowned upon; if you search the threads infinitehero has some sample pictures to show the difference between OEM and the cheap imitations.
Linegear is a good (albeit overpriced) option for custom rubber and hardware.

Of course, if you wish to part with them I may be interested...

 

[saunterer]

Thanks, Mikey for the info. I am going to do a bit more research and see where it goes from there.

Here's some eye candy for you all..

The lenses are not scratched up, those are reflections off my desk. LOL

 

[JayMann]

They look good!... is that a pair of google glass sitting there?

 

[saunterer]

is that a pair of google glass sitting there?

Ha! Yep. Those are my Google Glass. Today is exactly one month that I have had them.

 

[JayMann]

Dose that mean now a month later you've stopped using them?