The Charmant Group has received the Special Prize in the 4^th Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award which is an award program sponsored by the Japanese government.

The Special Prize in the Product and Technological Development Category was given for the very first time in the eyewear industry for our achievements that have added premium value to our products. The new optical frame is highly competitive to feature revolutionary excellence in design and wearing comfort thank to the success of the development of the world’s first commercialized nickel free and elastic titanium alloy (Excellence Titan) and the innovative precision laser welding technique for titanium alloys. The technology to successfully create elastic titanium strings – each much thinner than 1mm also contributed to the novel design of the product. The Prize was given jointly to the development team comprised of Charmant employees, university researchers from Tohoku University and Osaka University, and Fukui prefectural institution researchers – a total of 9 people. The achievement is embodied in the eyewear of Group’s signature brand LineArt CHARMANT and the top-of-the range brand, CHARMANT-Z.

“Monozukuri” is an ancient Japanese word and in recent years has been used to express the unique tradition and spirit of Japanese production/crafting/manufacturing, “mono”=things and “zukuri”=making. It is the foundation of the Japanese culture and industries and has greatly contributed to shaping the quality of life for the Japanese people.

The “Monozukuri” award was established in 2005 with the aim to create a solid foundation to continue inheriting the “Monozukuri” craft, and to support further developments. Since then, outstanding works have been awarded every two years with the “Prime Minister Prize” and the “METI (the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry) Minister Prize”. Furthermore, remarkable accomplishments have been given the “Special Prize” and “Outstanding Prize”.

*Excellence Titan

represents the next generation of eyewear and the latest results of the Charmant Group’s continued and dedicated research and development. It is a highly flexible material that provides unlimited design options and superior wearing comfort. Absolutely nickel-free, with outstanding processability and special memory functions that help the frame maintain its shape. The material itself was officially granted the US patent in 2011 together with the eyewear comprising the material and processes for production of the material and the eyewear.

See below URL for more information on Excellence Titan:

http://www.excellence-titan.com/en/index.html

*Precision Laser Welding

The innovative highly precise laser welding technique enabled Charmant Group to realize an intricate shape on the product without losing any of the Excellence Titan’s outstanding features.