The Carousel was invited to the Maui Jim launch event of their new summer collection, aboard a custom superyacht called the Sahana on Sydney’s harbour.
The stylish event was a world apart from the Hawaiian brand of sunglasses Maui Jim’s humble beginnings, as a small company that sold sunglasses on Ka’anapali beach in Lahaina, Maui.
Back in 1980, what started as a collection of seven classic styles has since expanded to over 125 styles. Maui Jim always took its cues from the sun, after all we spend our days under it. By doing so, they continuously look for ways to combat glare while keeping the vibrant colours of the world. What gives it the edge and explains much of its success is the fact they were the first to incorporate technology that could block out harmful UV rays and a special polarised plus2 lens design. They are also incredibly light in weight and easy to wear.
On board the luxury boat, I road tested the Nautilus Maui Jim’s seem below, which retail for $449.
This pair is shatter resistant, nearly fully scratch resistant, and extremely lightweight.
The brand’s famous PolarisesPlus2 lens technology eliminates 99.9% of glare, blocks out 100% of the harmful UV rays that we would otherwise be exposed to, and even boosts colour. And I must say, there was definitely no glare, and the colour remained vibrant and smooth.
Comfortable and stylish, Maui Jim’s new Summer collection produced a smooth, squint-less view of the surrounding harbour and scintillating Sydney skyline. Some glasses are unable to block out the power of the sun’s shine, but these did so excellently. It’s almost as if the sun had a dial, and whenever the sunglasses were on, the dial would plummet down; not to the point where it becomes dark, but just right. It’s the perfect accessory for a hot Summer‘s day where the sun’s dial is maxed out.
To show off the lens’ power, the Maui Jim team set up a picture that looked to be a bird flying above the brand’s logo; but when you put the sunglasses on, it would change to this beautiful, colourful landscape of nature with dolphins and whales lunging out of the water, surrounded by Hawaiian flora.
A small, local brand turned global remains very much in tune with its roots, in fact its head office to this day remains in Lahaina, where it started and where all the sunglasses are designed and tested.
For more information, visit the Maui Jim website.
