In a Harvard lecture in 1998, Warren Buffett said, “Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.” Gold, to Mr Buffett may be of “no utility”, but in the world of fashion, gold—even just the colour—has the value of beauty.

Gold’s increasingly elevated presence in fashion is perhaps an inevitable response to the surfeit of silver and platinum, and the dramatic decline as preferred metal in the Asian trousseau. Despite gold prices generally holding steady against a volatile stock market, its appeal in jewellery and accessories has not strengthened until recently, thanks, perhaps in part, to its undying popularity among hip-hop artistes, as well as Apple’s unrelenting push for gold iPhones—the first appearing in the 5S in 2013.

You know gold is catching on when the colour is now preferred in eyewear design. Standouts are those from Linda Farrow’s ‘Yellow Gold’ collection, distinguished not by the sunglasses’ gold titanium frames in rather classic shapes, but by their distinctive and original gold lenses. The overall effect is eyewear dipped in gold: monochromatic and extraordinarily stunning. Interestingly, despite the colour, you don’t see a world with yellow-gold tint. In fact, they offer you a surrounding similar to those seen through any dark shade. These made-in-Japan glasses offer 100% UV protection, just the thing your anti-ageing health program needs.

Who is Linda Farrow? Ms Farrow was originally a fashion designer before she started her name-sake label in 1970. Based in London, she was selling what were considered cutting-edge designs, all so unusual that, not long after, she started designing and producing for big-name designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. Despite its early success, Linda Farrow was closed in the late 80s only to be brought back to life by son and daughter-in-law Simon Jablon and Tracy Sedino in 2003. The rest is, unmistakably, eye-opening history.

Linda Farrow ‘Yellow Gold’ eyewear collection, from SGD1,260, is available at Peddar on Scotts, Scotts Square