Maurice Leonard, founder and CEO of Wood Optic Diffusion shares  the story of his company’s luxury eyewear, made by high-level craftsmen in the north of the country. In his opinion, his employees’ passion for design results in the most beautiful eyewear in the world.

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​For a quarter of a century, your company has revolutionised the world of eyewear with its wooden creations. How does the company operates?

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Gold & Wood produces its eyewear using twelve kinds of wood species, carefully chosen for their prestige, their rarity and the story they tell. The texture of the grain of our wood reveals a unique nature and distinctive characteristics which gives the wood real depth. Gold & Wood are trailblazers within the industry. From the initial sketch to making the frame, creating our eyewear entails several dozen technical steps. Our master craftsmen by hand, who have developed their expertise over decades, create different veneers from these high-quality materials and plate them with aluminium. Each pair of glasses is entirely handmade to become a piece  of art.

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"Each pair of glasses is entirely handmade to become a piece of art."

 

​How have you made Gold & Wood a globally recognised luxury eyewear brand?   

Our master craftsmen work at our production site in Hosingen, in the magical Oesling Valley, where they make each frame entirely unique. Since 1995, they’ve devoted themselves to achieving an unparalleled level of perfection in their work. Gold & Wood is a reference in terms of innovation and craftsmanship, maintaining its identity and its DNA while constantly adapting and updating. We work with buffalo horn for its unique colour and patterns, we use jewellery-making techniques to create perfect parts and we include hand-painted natural silk in our wood veneers. The company has A-list fans - Stevie Wonder, Shaquille O’Neal, Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas - and has won several awards.

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How do you see the future?

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Since it was founded in 1995, Wood Optic Diffusion, which markets are products under the Gold & Wood brand, has continued to grow organically and now covers forty countries all over the world. It currently has thirty employees and fifteen flagship stores including one in Luxembourg and one in Monaco. We export more than 500 pair of glasses all over the world every week. The company has a subsidiary in Miami and wants to strengthen its presence in China, Eastern Europe and India. On 13th June, we won the second prize at the 2018 Export Awards, which were attended by Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg.