The Riddle of the Sands — Women's Leather Glasses Case

The Riddle of the Sands is a folding leather glasses case for the lawyer who reads all day — structured armor while your glasses are in it, folded flat to nearly nothing while they're on your nose.

• Full-grain, vegetable-tanned Italian cowhide (Vachetta), hand-dyed by the maker
• Structured in use; folds flat when empty
• Soft interior lining; discreet magnetic closure
• Ships in the maker's gift box
• Black · Made in Italy

A rigid case protects the glasses and then spends the rest of the day being a rigid case in a soft bag. This one stands down when off duty — which is most of the day, if the prescription is honest.

The name is the maker's. The Riddle of the Sands is Erskine Childers's 1903 novel — two amateurs in a small boat, reading the charts more carefully than the professionals — commonly called the first modern spy novel, and credited with making the Admiralty re-read its own maps. A case named for careful reading, for the instrument you read with. The shelf's small joke, and a good one.

Questions we are asked

Will it take a large frame? Standard reading and prescription frames, yes. Oversized sunglasses are a squeeze; the case is sized for the pair you read with, not the pair you drive in.

Does the magnet affect anything in the bag? No. It is a small closure magnet of the kind used on handbag flaps, not a speaker magnet.

Why not a hard case? Because a hard case is empty most of the day and still takes up the room. This one is protective when it matters and flat when it does not.

Care. Vegetable-tanned Vachetta darkens with handling and sun; that is the leather working, not wearing out. Wipe dust with a dry cloth, keep it away from radiators, and condition lightly once a year with a colourless leather cream. Rain marks fade as the surrounding leather catches up.

For the other small case — the one for the jewelry — see Madame Bovary. It rides in either the Women in Love crossbody or the Shirley tote.

Barrister & Bespoke Curated Collection — hand-selected from Time Resistance, for its craftsmanship and fit within our world. Curated pieces carry their maker's own identity rather than ours; our house collection, designed and branded exclusively for Barrister & Bespoke, is marked separately throughout the shop.

Warranty. This Product carries Time Resistance's lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, remedied by repair, and Barrister & Bespoke's own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery. Full terms, including how to make a claim, are stated in our Warranty Policy.