Are My Oakleys Real?

Oakley was started by James Jannard in 1975 out of his garage with an initial investment of $300! The company, Oakley, named after Jannard’s dog, originally started out selling motorcycle handlebar grips at motocross events. The rest is history. Oakley sunglasses really started to gain popularity in the ’90s when celebrities like Michael Jordan and Tom Cruise were spotted wearing them. Whenever something like this gets popular, counterfeits start making an appearance. Here at Fuse, we’re dedicated to helping you spot the real Oakleys from the fakes. Make sure you don’t run into any surprises by checking out our tips of authenticity below:

How much did I pay?

A new pair of authentic Oakleys start around $96 and go up from there. There is an off chance the seller may be parting with their glasses below market value, but they might be old, used, or even stolen. You can proceed with these purchases at your own risk, but don’t be surprised if you don’t get the real Oakleys. The only way to buy online, worry-free, is directly from the Oakleys website or through an authorized seller. Fuse Lenses, us, has a store in Clearwater, Florida called Viso Sun Shop. Viso is an authorized seller, so all of our Oakley frames there are guaranteed to be the real thing.

What did it come with?

When purchasing a new pair of Oakleys, pay attention to the packaging it comes in. All Oakleys purchases should come with a box, a case (either hard or soft), and cleaning cloth (or if it came in a soft case, that doubles as a cleaning cloth). Oakley also comes with a certificate of authenticity and a warranty.

• Box: The sunglasses should arrive in a box from Oakley. The box should have all production details, like the label with the barcode and the model name. The frames listed on the box should be the same frames that are located inside.

• Case/Cleaning Cloth: In your package, you should also receive a case, either a hard case or a microfiber pouch. If your sunglasses come with a hard case, they should also come with a cleaning cloth. If you have a microfiber pouch, the pouch itself acts as the case and the cleaning cloth. All items should include the Oakley logo.

• Certificate/Warranty: Oakley includes a warranty card with every purchase. The certificate of authenticity, a large document with the Oakley logo on the top of both sides, is usually only included with special edition frames. It these situations, it is important to go through the certificate to make sure there aren’t any spelling or printing errors, because if there are it might be fake. However, not all Oakleys come with a certificate of authenticity, so just because one doesn't have one doesn't automatically mean it's fake.

Are the details right?

• Authentic Oakley cases should have the logo located on the top of the hard case or stitched on the corner of the pouch. 

• On the outside temple of Oakley frames, the Oakley ‘O’ should be embedded into the frame or the Oakley name should be printed. The Oakley O in the temple is slightly magnetized. If you a magnet near it, you should fill a small pull, but it will not be strong enough to actually stick.

• Sometimes, Oakley has the words “Polarized” or “Prizm” etched into the lens. Limited edition can have other etchings and prescription lenses might have the Oakley O etched. However, if they are painted on then it’s probably a fake.

• The placement of these logos is also very important. You can compare your frames to those on the official Oakley website and see if there are any obvious discrepancies. If there are, you might be dealing with a fake.

• Recently, polarized lenses from Oakley comes with a sticker, a stylized “P”. If it's on the lenses themselves, when you peel them off it should not leave a sticky residue on the lens. However, depending on the location you bought it at, the sticker can be found separately in a small plastic bag with the rest of the packaging. 

What Do the Inside Temples Look Like?

The inside temple should feature a model number, color code, and size. These numbers should match the numbers on the box. You can also lookup the model number online to see if the frames you have match up with the frames you found online. The eye size and bridge size should be separated with an Oakley elongated ‘O’.

The older Oakley models have a format of NN-NNN while the newer follow the format OONNNN or OXNNNN. A lot of people mistakenly read the start of the model number as zeroes, but the OO or OX is referring to the brand Oakley. You can use the model numbers to look up what glasses you have online. Sometimes counterfeiters will print the correct model number, but the color code or the size may not match up. If you are having trouble locating the model number or finding an exact match online, there is definitely a chance that it is fake.

To help identify which Oakley frames you have, try checking out our model identification page.

Summary

When trying to figure out if your Oakleys are real or fake, there are three things you should consider. The first thing is the location purchase and the monetary amount. If the sunglasses are surprisingly cheap, there is a high chance that they may be fake. If you purchase your Oakleys from an authorized seller, you can be more at ease that you have the authentic glasses. The second thing is the packaging and the details on the frame. Does a new pair come with a box, a carrying case, a cleaning cloth, certificate of authenticity, and a warranty? Is it free of spelling and printing errors? The last thing to look at is the numbers inside the temple. Use these numbers to look up your model, color code, and size to see if they match with a model online.

If you still have questions about the authenticity of your Oakleys after reading this article, we are here to help. We deal with hundreds of glasses every week, and we can help identify your frame.