GlassesUSA.com Celebrates World Turtle Day With Save the Tortoise Collection

Would you be shellshocked to know it’s been more than 20 years since World Turtle Day was first “shell”-ebrated?

Well, break out your tortoiseshell frames. May 23 marks the 23^rd annual celebration and recognition of our majestic, though slow-footed, reptilian friends.

GlassesUSA.com is marking this year’s World Turtle Day with a limited edition Save the Tortoise Collection. The collection includes 13 different tortoiseshell style frames. The design of each style is inspired by a specific species of tortoise facing extinction.

GlassesUSA partnered with The American Tortoise Rescue on the collection. As such, up to 10% of all proceeds from sales of the collection will go to the foundation.

According to the company, “Each pair of glasses in the collection pays artistic homage to a specific tortoise, sharing the same name and taking inspiration from the most intricate details and translating them through the frames. All frames are made from 100% plant-based acetate and are available as eyeglasses or sunglasses with fully customizable lens options.

Frame descriptions

• The Western Pond frame, just as the shell of the tortoise itself, is lower and broader in shape, with extending end pieces that represent the tortoise’s prominent head and tail.
• The Mata Mata frame, like its turtle counterpart, has a very striking look. In addition to its standout color, the noticeable laminated edges depict its triangular, flattened head.
• The African Sideneck is a round frame with a smooth, block color finish, illustrating the tortoise’s same characteristics and body shape. The transparent arms are a nod to the light color of its distinctive face.

• The Volcan Darwin Giant has a specific character of its own. Its dark green top and brown patterned bottom shares a wonderful likeness to the tortoise with its dark green shell and patterned under body.
• The Egyption is a delicate, half frame, representing this famously small tortoise. While the arms are brightly patterned, the frame itself has black upper rims, to honor the dark, clearly marked chevrons on its scales.
• The Bolson frame is one of the more unique in the collection. More oval and flat, akin to this giant tortoise, with the same ashy, matte finish as the tortoise’s shell.
• The Parrot Beaked frame has what can only be described as adorable red nose pads that perfectly celebrate the noses of the dominant males that become bright red or orange during breeding season.
• The Greek frame is green in color, and similar to the tortoise’s shell and lower body, the upper half is domed where the lower half is more square.
• The Box, as its name suggests, is an oversized square frame. These sunglasses lenses are red tinted to illustrate the tortoises signature red eyes.
• The Geometric boasts a sleek, angular shape, and a strong black and yellow appearance like the distinguished tortoise shell. This particular frame has the collection’s signature engraving on the outer temple, highlighting the eye-catching scales on the tortoise’s legs.
• The Angonoka frame, when turned upside down, mimics the highly domed, oval shape of this impressive tortoise.
• The Leopard frame conveys the attractively marked pattern in this tortoise’s uniform yellow and brown colors. The oval ridges of this unique frame shape perfectly model the shape of the tortoise shell.
• The Santiago Giant, another oversized frame doing justice to this large tortoise, and displays the beautifully chic gray tones that ensure the same stand-out look of its tortoise doppelganger.

More on Turtles and Their Day

–Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson founded American Tortoise Rescue in Malibu, CA in 1990. They currently run the only U.S. sanctuary that helps re-home turtles and tortoises. The nonprofit is dedicated to the protection of turtles and tortoises throughout the world.

–Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about World Turtle Day.

–According to the Turtle Conservancy, “With half of all turtle and tortoise species threatened with extinction, turtles are one of the world’s most endangered vertebrate groups.”