The owner holds their phone to the case.
Certificate of authenticity
- Material
- Buffalo horn
- Atelier
- Hong Kong
- Owner
- registered
“I want to make things that will outlive me, heirloom pieces that you can pass on to the next generation.”
Ti Kwa, founder
Made to outlive its maker. Remembered for a century.
20262126
Rigards was born in an optical shop. It still lives in them.
Two strangers, Malaysian-born Ti Kwa and French-born Jean-Marc Virard, crossing paths in a secret eyewear boutique hidden in a Hong Kong back alley. A shared love for unique eyewear. A company.
The optician's shop is where Rigards started, and it is still where every Rigards meets its owner. That makes the optician part of the story, not just the place it ends.
Each piece of horn is as unique as a fingerprint.
Ti's own words. Rigards works only with materials made to last by nature, each one with its own character, so no two frames are exactly alike.
- Buffalo hornThe first material, from year one
- CopperA one-of-a-kind finish, every time
- 925 silverWorked like jewellery
- Solid woodGrain that cannot repeat
- TitaniumLightness beside the horn
Not a single Rigards has ever been made from plastic. Every one of them deserves to be on record.
A Rigards changes with its owner. Its record should too.
Copper develops its patina. A frame built to last a century will live several lives. Today, none of them are written down.
- Made
Hong Kong atelier, the hands, the year.
- First owner
Bought at their optician, registered to them.
- Years of wear
Care and adjustments, kept with the frame.
- Passed on
The next generation inherits the frame, and its history.
Samurai, gods and monsters. Every frame has a story.
A horn finish inspired by the swordsman of Kurosawa's Sanjuro. A copper “Mad Scientist” for the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein. Eastern gods. Collaborations with the designers of Paris Fashion Week.
At most counters, all of that becomes one sentence, if it is told at all.
Silmo d'Or · 2021
Three things an heirloom needs.
- I
Ring-fence
Proof that it is a genuine Rigards, and of who owns it. When it is passed on, the proof goes with it, for a hundred years.
- II
Tell
The material, the inspiration, the collaboration, told in Rigards' own words at every optician, in every country.
- III
Return
A direct line to the people who wear Rigards: a new copper piece, a collaboration, an invitation. Always through their optician.
Nothing on the frame changes. The tag can sit in the case or on a card. Where it goes, and what the passport shows, are always Rigards' decision.
One tap. The whole life of the frame.
Proof that it is genuine. The story behind it. The line of owners who looked after it. Everything an heirloom needs to carry, carried by the frame itself.
20262126
Someone inherits a Rigards. One tap, and they know everything.
Where it was made. Who designed it. Who wore it first, and everyone who looked after it since. The heirloom Ti set out to make, with its history intact.
Where shall we begin?
Ti, thank you for the conversation at your stand at SILMO. We would love to show you and Jean-Marc a live demo, and choose the starting point together:
- The horn pieces
Where every frame is already one of a kind.
- The copper range
A finish that changes with its owner, now with a record that does too.
- A collaboration
The next designer collaboration, launched with its story.
Everything else, we build with you.