Persol’s founder Giuseppe Ratti intuitively recognized the need to differentiate and make his products iconic and recognizable. At the end of the 1930s the swords of ancient warriors inspired the Arrow symbol.

The supreme Arrow is the symbol of Persol, the defining feature. When Ratti created the Arrow he said, “this will be my warhorse.” From the first simplified version (called Simplex), the Arrow has evolved through continual technical and design adjustments, arriving at the Supreme Arrow, which is currently used in Persol collections. The historical evolution of the Arrow includes over 30 different types. Only the latest, the Supreme Arrow, includes numerous versions (Supreme 85, Supreme 60 mini, Supreme 45, etc.)

The Victor Arrow. This brass hinge can be considered the forefather of the arm part of the current Suprema hinge. The first Victor hinges date back to the early 1960s and were used for some thirty years.

Over the years, through all its evolutions, the Arrow has acquired considerable symbolic value and has been widely copied. The arrow is what makes a pair of Persol’s recognizable among the vast landscape of optics, and what makes the brand so iconic.