OVERVIEW
ic! berlin is defined by more than ‘no screws’: it turned cut, bent and interlocking sheet metal into a complete manufacturing language
ic! berlin is often remembered as the German eyewear brand without screws. But the missing screw alone does not explain why the brand has remained recognisable since 1996. The deeper idea is that thin stainless-steel sheet is cut, bent and interlocked in a way that makes the construction method itself the design language.
The current company describes itself as founded in Berlin in 1996 and combines its original no-screw hinge with stainless steel, titanium, acetate and hybrid materials. Current Classic product pages still define the original platform as flexible stainless-steel sheet with hinges that use no screws.
Removing screws, rivets and adhesives does not eliminate complexity. It shifts responsibility to material elasticity, bending geometry, slots, interlocking contact points and temple tension. The frame itself becomes part of the hinge mechanism.
ic! berlin is therefore better understood not as a brand with a famous hinge, but as a company that expanded one connection principle into material selection, manufacturing, fitting and brand identity. The strongest logo is the way the product works.
01 · ORIGIN
Founded in 1996, with a 1997 patent record: the early core was structural, not stylistic
ic! berlin’s current About page states that the brand was founded in 1996. The present website does not foreground a detailed founder narrative, but German patent DE19703812A1, with a 1997 priority date, describes a screwless spectacle frame and lists Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling as inventors.
The patent is useful because it shows the nature of the early problem. The aim was not merely to remove one screw, but to redesign how temples and front interact so that resilient sheet-metal elements perform the connection.
In its 25th-anniversary material, ic! berlin describes itself as the inventor of screwless stainless-steel sheet eyewear. That priority statement should be treated as the company’s own claim, but the continuity of screwless sheet-metal engineering from the late 1990s to the current product line is independently visible in patents and products.
This construction also defined the aesthetic. The frame does not hide how it works. Bends, slots and interlocking parts become part of the visual identity.
02 · HINGE AS SYSTEM
The no-screw hinge shifted the responsibility for connection from fasteners to geometry and elasticity
Conventional spectacle hinges typically use screws, knuckles, rivets or other hardware to create a pivot. ic! berlin instead developed sheet-metal systems in which shaped parts interlock and remain functional through material elasticity.
The current Style. Made in Germany page explicitly describes hinge systems that are screwless, rivetless and glueless. Function is carried by the relationship between parts rather than by separate fasteners.
The benefit is broader than avoiding loose screws. Assembly, disassembly, impact behaviour and adjustment all depend on the geometry of the joint. Fewer fasteners mean higher sensitivity to sheet thickness, slot position, contact surfaces and spring force.
That is why the hinge became such a strong brand code. It communicates function and identity at the same time.
03 · SHEET METAL
Stainless steel is not just a material choice; it is the starting point for turning a flat sheet into a three-dimensional mechanism
ic! berlin calls stainless steel the heart of the brand. Current material information points to cold-rolled stainless steel from Germany and emphasises tensile strength, flexibility and malleability as properties that support lightweight frames and the no-screw hinge.
The manufacturing logic differs from conventional wire frames. By cutting and bending sheet, the same material logic can define front contours, temples and interlocking hinge elements.
Current Classic products such as Gen and Oscar are still described as flexible stainless-steel-sheet frames with screwless hinges, positioning the 1990s construction as the continuing reference point.
The competitive knowledge lies not in the word stainless steel but in how thickness, bend radius, finishing and hinge geometry translate material properties into fit and durability.
04 · BERLIN MANUFACTORY
‘Made in Berlin’ is less an origin slogan than an integrated loop linking forming, finishing and engineering
ic! berlin currently says that more than 180 craftspeople, engineers and technicians design, build and market its eyewear, and that each piece is handcrafted in its Berlin manufactory.
The official manufacturing description combines modern design, manufacturing and milling techniques with handwork. Metal bending, advanced colour treatment, lacquer and laser engraving are handled within the production system.
Handwork does not mean avoiding machinery. It is used where adjustment, finishing and judgment matter; industrial equipment provides repeatability and precision where those are critical.
For a frame whose hinge depends on accurate bends and interlocking geometry, keeping design and production feedback close is structurally useful. Berlin is therefore both a cultural reference and the location of the manufacturing loop.
05 · FIT & SERVICE
A screwless structure is not a fitting-free structure; it changes which variables the optician manages
ic! berlin states that its products are designed for easy adjustment and can be tailored to fit using simple methods. Removing screws does not eliminate the need for optical fitting.
Comfort still depends on front width, temple spread, ear bend, nose-pad position and lens mass. A simpler hinge reduces one maintenance variable, but it does not erase the rest of the fitting system.
What changes is diagnostic emphasis. Rather than checking loose fasteners first, the practitioner examines sheet deformation, temple tension and the condition of the interlocking joint.
A useful design system does not remove every problem; it can convert problems into fewer and more legible variables.
06 · EVOLUTION
From Classic to Silk and hybrid structures, ic! berlin preserved the connection logic while expanding thickness, materials and expression
ic! berlin no longer relies on one single hinge. The company says its collections use a range of screwless, rivetless and glueless sheet-metal hinge systems in different sizes.
Silk is a clear example of evolution. The brand calls it its thinnest and lightest collection and says it uses a second-generation patented no-screw hinge.
The portfolio now extends beyond stainless steel to Japanese beta titanium, cellulose acetate and metal-acetate hybrids. Ellner O., for example, is described as an acetate hybrid designed and manufactured in Berlin.
The continuity therefore lies less in one material than in the rule: keep the connection simple, light, adjustable and legible even as materials change.
07 · MATERIAL NETWORK
Made in Germany does not mean every material is German: Berlin manufacturing sits on an international material network
Current ic! berlin material information cites cold-rolled stainless steel from Germany, beta titanium from Japan and cellulose acetate selected from suppliers in Italy and China. The finished frames are designed and manufactured in Berlin, while raw-material sourcing is international.
This distinction makes ‘Made in Germany’ more precise. The value lies in integrating materials from different supply chains into one Berlin design, production and quality system, not in claiming that every input originates in Germany.
The brand also says it responsibly recycles leftover materials and uses fewer resources where possible. Public information does not provide enough data to turn those statements into a complete lifecycle assessment, so the sustainability claim should not be overstated.
In eyewear, material origin, manufacturing location and ownership of the quality standard are separate questions.
08 · 2023–2024
After the Marcolin acquisition, production, design and R&D remained in Berlin while distribution moved into the group network
Marcolin completed the acquisition of the ic! berlin Group on 7 November 2023 and held 100% of ic! berlin GmbH at year-end. The FY2023 financial statements record the transaction as a business combination.
The 2024 financial statements clarify the post-acquisition division of roles: production, design, research and development and brand management remained at the Berlin headquarters, while global distribution and marketing were integrated into Marcolin’s network.
That division reveals what the group considered essential to preserve locally: the accumulated design and manufacturing knowledge around the hinge, sheet metal and product development.
ic! berlin changed from an independent brand to a Marcolin house brand, but the functions that define the product and the functions that scale distribution were deliberately separated.
GLANOS VIEW
ic! berlin’s strength is not that it removed screws, but that it repeated one structural principle across design, production, fitting and brand identity
A screwless hinge can be copied. Stainless-steel sheet can be purchased. Maintaining one structural idea as a coherent manufacturing language for decades is harder.
ic! berlin extended the hinge logic into sheet thickness, bending, temple elasticity, surface treatment, assembly and fitting. ‘Using fewer parts’ affects not only visual minimalism but also process and maintenance.
For an optician, readable construction matters. When screws, rivets and adhesives are reduced, failure does not disappear; it moves toward variables such as deformation, interlocking condition and temple tension.
The same principle applies to systems more broadly: choose a core rule and prevent later functions from contradicting it. At ic! berlin, the hinge became more than a component—it became the organising rule of the product.
Strong product language comes from repeatable decisions: which materials to use, which parts to remove, which processes to keep internal and which variables to leave to fitting.
BRAND PROFILE
Brand Profile
- Founded
- 1996 · Berlin, Germany
- Core construction
- Original flat-metal screwless hinge; screwless, rivetless and glueless sheet-metal hinge systems
- Primary material language
- Cold-rolled stainless steel; later beta titanium, acetate and hybrid structures
- Manufacturing
- Designed and manufactured in Berlin according to ic! berlin
- Current official scale
- 180+ craftspeople, engineers and technicians; distribution across 60 countries according to ic! berlin
- Silk
- Current thinnest/lightest collection; second-generation patented no-screw hinge
- Early patent evidence
- DE19703812A1, priority 27 Jan 1997; inventors Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling
- Ownership
- Marcolin SpA · 100% ownership after closing on 7 Nov 2023
- Post-acquisition structure
- Production, design, R&D and brand management retained in Berlin; distribution and marketing integrated into Marcolin network
SOURCES
Sources & References
Current ic! berlin corporate, brand, product and journal pages were prioritised for the 1996 founding date, Berlin production, current scale, screwless hinge systems, material sourcing and manufacturing language. The early structure was cross-checked against a 1997 German patent for a screwless spectacle frame.
Claims such as the invention of screwless stainless-steel sheet eyewear and superlative durability language are treated as ic! berlin’s own official claims. The 2023 acquisition and 2024 post-acquisition division of functions are sourced from Marcolin financial statements.
- ic! berlin · About1996 founding, current scale, Berlin manufacturing, original no-screw hinge and material range
- ic! berlin · BrandBrand mission, Berlin identity, no-screw hinge, lightweight and durable design language
- ic! berlin · Style. Made in GermanyScrewless/rivetless/glueless sheet-metal hinges, German manufacturing, adjustment and materials
- ic! berlin · 25 Years25th anniversary and the company’s official invention narrative for screwless stainless-steel sheet eyewear
- ic! berlin · Silk CollectionCurrent thinnest/lightest collection, second-generation patented no-screw hinge and material sourcing
- ic! berlin · GenClassic stainless-steel-sheet/no-screw construction and Berlin design/manufacturing statement
- ic! berlin · OscarFlexible stainless-steel-sheet Classic construction and Berlin production
- ic! berlin · Ellner O.Acetate hybrid construction, Berlin production and current manufacturing description
- German Patent · DE19703812A11997-priority screwless spectacle-frame patent naming Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling as inventors
- Google Patents · US20100033673A1Later ic! berlin GmbH screw-free hinge patent record and technical lineage
- Marcolin · FY2023 Financial StatementAcquisition closing on 7 Nov 2023 and 100% ownership/business-combination record
- Marcolin · FY2024 Financial StatementBerlin retention of production, design, R&D and brand management; group integration of distribution/marketing