Eyewear repair from outside Japan — what it costs, how long, and who pays the postage
We repair eyewear frames at a workshop in Sabae, Fukui. Any brand. You do not need to have bought the frame from us, and we take frames other shops have turned down.
Below: whether you can send yours, what it costs, how long it takes, and who pays the postage.
Pictured: polishing, which restores the gloss on an acetate frame.
Can you send us your frames?
Yes, from anywhere. Metal, acetate, celluloid, solid gold and tortoiseshell are all handled.
Do not order from the site. Email photos first to info@phase-design.jp — one of the whole frame, one close-up of the damage. We reply with a quote and the shipping address.
Two things we cannot repair: a frame that has shattered, and a frame with a part missing. A clean break can be welded or re-seated. A piece that is gone cannot be remade. If we think a frame is beyond saving we will say so, rather than have you pay to find out.
What it costs
We quote each repair individually, because the price depends on the work and not on the brand. A designer frame and a supermarket frame cost the same to weld.
What we have actually charged overseas customers in the past year:
- Frame repair, United Kingdom — ¥16,480
- Frame repair, United Kingdom — ¥15,500
- Repair fee, United States — ¥10,660
Most overseas repairs land between ¥5,000 and ¥30,000, before postage. Simple work — straightening a bent frame, removing a seized screw — is at the bottom of that range. Solid gold, tortoiseshell and acetate bridge breaks are at the top.
How long it takes
From the day the frame reaches us to the day it goes back out. Transit to and from the Sabae workshop is included. International postage is on top of this, in both directions.
| Repair | Turnaround in Japan |
|---|---|
| Straightening a bent frame | 9–10 days |
| Removing a seized screw | 9–10 days |
| Welding a broken metal frame | 9–10 days |
| Laser weld with colour matching | 10–12 days |
| Setting a hinge back into acetate | 12–14 days |
| Adding nose pads | 12–14 days |
| Re-plating, single colour | 13–15 days |
| Broken bridge or rim, acetate/celluloid | 21–28 days |
| Tortoiseshell polishing and repair | 17–21 days |
| Tortoiseshell coating | 28–37 days |
Who pays the postage
You do, both ways. Repairs are treated the same as an order: you pay to send the frame to Japan, and you pay for the return leg.
Send it prepaid. We cannot accept cash-on-delivery or freight-collect parcels from overseas. Import duties and taxes on the returned parcel are the recipient's responsibility.
If you are coming to Tokyo
The arrangement we see most often now: a visitor drops the frame off at TOKYO OPT. in Nakameguro on their first day in Tokyo, and collects it on the day they fly home. A two-week trip covers everything in the table above up to fourteen days — straightening, welding, a seized screw, a hinge reset, nose pads. No postage in either direction.
TOKYO OPT.
3-10-3-310 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0051
Tel 080-5960-0007 — open 11:00–20:00
instagram.com/tokyo_opt
Email the photos to info@phase-design.jp before you travel, so the workshop knows what is coming and can tell you whether it will be ready in time.
Warranty
If the same spot fails again within six months, we repair it free of charge.
If we open the parcel and find that more work is needed than the quote covered, we contact you before starting. If you would rather not pay the difference, we do only the work you agreed to.
Where the work is done
Sabae, in Fukui prefecture, where most Japanese frames are made. The workshop handles metal, acetate, celluloid, solid gold and tortoiseshell.
── The full price list, in yen for domestic orders, is on the repair page.
