$4000 Sunglasses?

This is something that I saw on the Everyman Tri Twitter feed:

Here's the scenario:

You are riding your 24k gold Aurumania down the street - followed by armed security service you hired to make sure your bike remains yours. It's a beautiful, sunny day, and you are squinting because you don't have any sunglasses worthy of wearing while riding your overtly expensive whip.

Fret no longer. Oakley - purveyors of extremely nice sunglasses - have upped the ante. In fact, they have upped it so far, you will need a pair of binoculars to even see the ante now.

For a mere $4000 you can have the Oakley C SIX sunglasses

From the Oakley website:

C SIX Sunglasses
This premier eyewear design in the new Elite collection blends carbon fiber with customized mechanics and the world’s best optical technologies. Called Oakley Elite C SIX, its moniker comes from the fact that carbon (the “C” in the name) is the 6th element in the periodic table, hence “C SIX.” This invention was inspired by more than just the passion to create the ultimate sunglasses. “We took examples from segmented creatures in the animal kingdom,” said Senior Design Director Peter Yee. “We looked at animals like the armadillo and studied how parts move and slide. It’s the same idea with armored suits – you have flexibility and function that remains
protective.“

Auto racing was another inspiration. “We were looking at cams that move valves,” said Global Eyewear Development Manager Steve Ogren. “That’s when we came up with the concept of radial cams for the frame mechanics.” The connection to racecars didn’t stop there. “Some of the contours of C SIX take cues from speed machines,” said Oakley President Colin Baden. “When we decided to use carbon fiber, we went to the guys who have been building Formula One racecars for decades, Crosby Composites of England. They’re the absolute best on the planet with this technology.”

C SIX
The C SIX premier frame in this exclusive eyewear family takes aesthetics to an entirely new arena, and it would not be possible without the world’s most advanced structural technologies. Oakley Elite C SIX utilizes pure carbon fiber, a material thinner than human hair yet stronger than high tensile steel. This breakthrough innovation from the aerospace industry is blended with resins and assembled into structures more than 40 layers thick. Five-axis Computer Numeric Control machining carves and shapes the composite with a process that requires more than 24 hours of continuous tooling.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Weight 42 g
• Frame Material Carbon fiber composite
• Substructure Beta Titanium spine
• Lens Curvature 8.75 base
• Optical Precision ANSI Z87.1 rated clarity and performance
• Impact Protection ANSI Z87.1 rated for high mass and high velocity
• UV Elimination 100% of UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light up to 400nm
• Glare Reduction 99% filtering plus anti-reflective (AR) coating on backside
  of lens

SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP

• Computer Numeric Controlled machining with 0.002” precision
• 24 hours of continuous tooling
• Hand assembly
• Hexalobular bolts for improved impact protection
• Oakley Hydrophobic/Oleophobic lens coating
• Oakley HDPolarized lenses
• HIGH DEFINITION OPTICS® (HDO®)
• IRIDIUM® lens coating for balanced light transmission

$4000 too rich for your blood? Oakley also makes a model of the C SIX out of aluminum for a mere $1500.