BRAND STORY
Brazilian football prodigies are obsessed with them. Beyoncé is rarely seen without hers. Sophie Marceau keeps them permanently perched on the bridge of her nose. Stylist Carine Roitfeld took the brand under her wing from day one, while the legendary Karl Lagerfeld spent an entire year wearing one of the very first prototypes of what was then just a budding label. According to founder Jonathan Amar, it was almost written in the stars.
As a young optician, Amar was managing a beautifully curated boutique in Paris's Palais Royal. He was just about to leave to launch his own venture with his first designs (which were on display in the shop) when destiny stepped in. It took the form of a frantic paparazzi begging him not to close the shop just yet. A few minutes later, Jennifer Aniston walked in. In a twist almost too good to be true, out of all the eyewear on display, she singled out one of John Dalia's brand-new creations.
It sounds like the opening scene of an American romantic comedy, but it was actually the birth of a success story—one heavily fueled by social media. The buzz spread like wildfire, cleverly sparked by the young entrepreneur whenever the opportunity arose. Amar possessed a natural knack for gifting the right frame at the exact right moment, sometimes even in a café, if chance crossed his path with the right person.
The phenomenon reached a whole new level in late September 2017. Having just arrived in Paris, Neymar spent the entirety of Fashion Week sporting his John Dalia shades. "Neymar wore them for three days straight—it was a stroke of pure luck," Amar recalls. The buzz was undeniable, and retail requests from new high-end boutiques came pouring in.
CRAFTSMANSHIP & PHILOSOPHY
Six years ago, John Dalia produced just 700 pairs of glasses a year. By 2018, that number had grown to nearly 15,000 pairs—each meticulously crafted from acetate and precious metals, most notably the gold that has become the brand's signature.
Let’s be clear: Jonathan Amar is an optician first and foremost, and he champions product quality above all else. While his eyewear is undeniably stylish, it is, above all, impeccably crafted French eyewear.
In fact, from the very beginning—and to break away from mass-licensed luxury logos—the frames feature no visible branding, save for a discreet, flower-like pictogram on the temple. "I wanted to stake everything on product quality, not the brand name," the designer explains. He goes on to admit that nobody was expecting John Dalia—a name born from a blend of his own nickname and "dalia", the Arabic word for the grapevine his grandfather used to cultivate in Morocco.
Because a premium pair of glasses is a product to be discovered and appreciated, the designer favors a highly selective distribution network, partnering exclusively with top-tier, multi-brand boutiques.
THE ART OF THE DETAIL
"Seven years ago, I wanted to incorporate gold into every single design," Jonathan Amar reminisces, reflecting on the challenge of marrying precious metal with the high-grade acetate used in luxury eyewear. He ran his first trials in the Jura region—the historic cradle of French eyewear manufacturing—before relocating his growing production to Évreux.
Each pair requires 150 meticulous steps to complete. From the delicate guilloché engraving around the rims and the reassuring weight of the 22-karat gold-plated temples, to the hand-polished acetate, these glasses are true pieces of jewelry for men. Titanium has since enriched the line, which continues to grow.
"The collections evolve and mature... just like me," concludes Jonathan Amar.
