Luxottica to Partner with Google Glass

The Luxottica Group SpA (Milan) has announced a partnership with Google Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.), to design, manufacture and distribute frames for Google Glass, the Internet-connected eyewear.

The announcement is Google’s biggest effort yet to make Glass attractive and available to mainstream consumers as it prepares to sell it more widely later this year.

In January, Google announced that it would partner with VSP Vision Care (Rancho Cordova, Calif.), the nation’s biggest optical health insurance provider, to offer subsidized frames and prescription lenses for Glass.

Initially, reported The New York Times, Google will develop Ray-Ban and Oakley frames for Glass and work with Luxottica to design its own frames. Luxottica – which manufactures the eyeglass brands Ray-Ban, Oakley and Persol and manages retail chains like LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut – will manufacture all Google Glass frames and lead wholesale and retail sales of them. Google will also continue to sell the device online.