The Porsche of Doll Eyes Versus the Volkswagon Variety

It really does depend on what you're going for, and the makers of said eyes. I haven't had any urethanes but I do own glass, silicone and acrylic. My boys aren't a realistic style at all so 'realism' in their eyes isn't an issue for me. The glass ones I have lack depth, so my bigger boys wear SOOM silicones.

My favorites are custom-made acrylics, though. The ones Sage wears are beautiful and have a lot of life to them, and since they're custom they're EXACTLY the shade they're supposed to be. ^_^ And absolutely not flat at all!

 

it depends on the doll, i think, but because my doll has dreaming eyes, i avoid acrylics since they tend to photograph dark, and not ...shiny enough. though the glass eyes i have in him now don't always glitter in the camera, they're definitely better. having never owned urethane or silicon eyes before, i can't say much about them, but i do think mystics look awesome, and so do silicon, in certain photos.

to me, i think the price matters, a bit. as in, within each type of eyes, the higher priced ones generally look and photograph better than the lower priced ones. but the comparison is within the types, not across, since the materials used are not the same, and can't achieve the same effect, so it's not really fair to compare their prices just like that.

 

I'm definitely going to jump on the wagon of "it all depends on the doll". Tastes vary so much and everyone has their favorite, and every type of eye has its pluses and minuses!
I've always been a big fan of silicone and that's what I usually put in my own dolls; I really like Eyeco eyes because their quality is consistent and they still look lovely years later (all of the MP that I have that are several years old have developed blown pupils and I'm really unhappy with their quality). I see lots of eyes in my line of work obviously and it's all a matter of personal taste... For example Hand Glass Craft eyes are considered one of the cadillac brands of glass and they are stunning, but I personally like my eyes to have more colors in the eye than glass eyes have. Usually glass is a single color which just isn't to my tastes.
Don't discount a gorgeous acrylic, either. And I'm not shilling for my brand here - the first example that pops to mind is Eyeco 255 in acrylic is one of the most deep and rich eyes I've ever seen. I sincerely think it's even prettier and with more depth than its more expensive silicone counterpart.
I haven't seen urethanes yet although I will if my Ever Purple order ever gets here :P

 

Thanks for this informative thread.

 

My dolls are all very different, reflecting the diversity of an inner-city neighborhood by design. So their eyes are very diverse as well, with each type being very character driven. I have everything from acrylic (glitter and reflective,) to cheap glass with unusual colored pupils or no pupils, to expensive glass, to even more expensive urethanes, and a gear eye as well. I dearly love them all regardless of their price because each was chosen to complete a unique character. And once I find that "perfect pair" for my characters, I never change them.

 

For me it is either glass or Urethane. I have both. I have a pair of $12 glass eyes that are to die for and I have pairs of Droprops that are to die for. I do not like acrylic and do not buy them ever. I have owned several pair and I find them flat and pixilated (sp).

I have not used other Urethane eyes so I cannot compare brands but I love the two pairs of Droprops I have.

 

Also agreeing with this. My dolls have eyes ranging from inexpensive acrylics to silicone, inexpensive glass up to some higher-priced glass, and some urethane. I love the look of urethane eyes best as a general rule, but they aren't always right for all my dolls. The shape of a doll's eyes and eyewells can really affect what type of eyes will fit in their head, and to me it's all about what looks right in that particular doll.

If we're just going by which eyes I tend to gravitate toward, I love RuddyPeach glass eyes and Everpurple urethanes. Both are in the $20-45 price range, and have a lovely depth as well the kind of unique colors I like. I haven't tried other urethanes yet though.

 

I have glass and acrylics and I really do prefer the acrylics of the glass. My problem is in the range of colours I want, I can't ever FIND them in glass. If I could, I'd probably pop the extra couple of dollars and get glass. I do like them, they're pretty and glossy, but they don't come in enough colours, with enough gradiant in the iris or enough shine to make me happy. One of my guys wears Dollmore blue acrylics, the other three all wear custom acrylics in holographic silver, bright yellow and metallic gold. And it suits them perfectly. I don't think I could get the same amount of 'life' in their eyes with another type of eye.

I can't comment on any other kind of eye, because I've never had them or seen them.

 

I plan to have Urethanes for all of my dolls by the end of it because I love how it looks, but I must say Soom's silicone eyes are a close second. they are SO realistic in certain dolls and have beautiful soft colors that dont look as flat as some acrylics can sometimes. They look so much brighter on the site than they are in person so I really enjoy them. I have some glass eyes too but its really hard to find a pair that look realistic. Most have no patterning in the iris.

 

For the most part, my dolls wear irregular glass eyes and I quite like them. I have one doll who wears acrylic eyes (I think they're Glib), but I might switch her to have glass eyes as well at some point. I like the look of heavily threaded glass, silicone, and urethane eyes, but I tend to stay in the lower price range for my glass eyes.

 

Well I don't think it depends on the price, just how well they are made. Realistic eyes don't have just one solid color with a black dot, they have variation, lines, ect. My IH Tatiana, Midori has seven dollar acrylics, from IH and I love them. They are bright, beatiful, and blue -green. My Latidoll Reina has glass eyes that are a bit more expensive (not sure how much, she came with them, but I was told they are a top quality) and they are just a beautiful to me.

More then price, I think you have to find what suits your doll and makes you happy. I have seen eyes cost a small fortune, I doubt I will ever spend more then $30 on a pair of eyes, but I tend to find what I like in that price range (there are plenty of nice glass, acrylic, and resin eyes for under $30).

 

For me it all depends. My Barron, Kevya, has riveting Volks metallics. My Soom Lupin, Prince Lir, has Masterpiece eyes that cost me over 20$, but I find my Puki Pip's tiny acrylics every bit as stunning and crystalline, and my Puki NIkos has these amazing vibrant purple Glib eyes that came free with him. They are incredibly alive and bright.
Ya never can tell which ones will just bring a doll to life.

 

I discovered that the inexpensive flat paperweight glass Bluette eyes fit every doll I own perfectly!! And the quality surpasses many of the very expensive eyes!

 

Fit-wise I've actually had more luck with urethanes than with glass or acrylics. Droprops and Enchanted Doll in particular have a tendency to drop nicely into place. Dollshes are too small and round to fit almost anybody I own right though *sigh*.

While I won't keep anybody permanently in glass or acrylics, there are nice ones out there. I'm pretty impressed with the Iplehouse acrylics that came with my Vito. They have high domes, so they have some depth and they pick up light decently. Just lacking the whoa! depth, clarity, tracking, and "wet look" of my urethanes. Also, I consider the high quality glass eyes I have from Japanese dealers like Silver and Hitomiya works of art. They're actually more expensive than my urethanes though *L*.

 

It differs mostly for what you go for.
I'm into realistic looking dolls so for me "Eyeco" softglass/silicone eyes
are the best of the best.

If I had less realistic looking dolls I'd either go for glass or urethane eyes
because of their glow and colours.

Sabriell

 

The Bugatti of the doll eye world as far as I am concerned is Antique Rose, but good luck finding a pair of them as the eye maker grew ill and stopped making them years ago, and even then they were not easy to acquire. The high quality Japanese glass eye makers, like Antique Rose, Silver, and Hitomiya, are artists as far as I am concerned, and I much prefer extremely high quality glass eyes for my dolls over any other kind. Currently, 5 of my dolls have Silver eyes, and it will be more once I find a few pairs in the right colour and size. A few of my dolls can't wear the Japanese glass eyes though due to them having generally very high domes, and for those dolls I use urethanes. I like a lot of the colours available for Droprops and their low domes fit well in a lot of eyes. I also really like Enchanted Doll eyes. Out of all of the urethane eyes, I feel they are the closest to mimicking high quality glass and come in a variety of colours.

I do consider myself a bit of an eye snob, hehe, in that I would rather just leave the doll eyeless than throw in a pair of lower quality eyes as a temp fix.

 

Personally I swear by Dollmore's acrylics. I don't know why, but they just seem to have much more life in them then any other eyes I've tried so far. The red cat eyes in my littlest girl follow you around the room. That said, I haven't really investigated glass eyes - they don't really appeal to me. Most of them don't seem to have much detail in the irises.
I'd really like to try some of Iple House's eyes. I love how they look in their site photos!

 

Actually, a lot of Iple's dolls are wearing Enchanted Dolls urethanes in sales pics.

Kim, I've turned into an eye snob, too
I'm getting rid of all my non-urethane eyes but haven't been able to bring myself to sell the Silvers I have yet . . . well, one pair is in use, but the other isn't, and yet I love them . . .

 

I really like glass eyes, but when I discovered urethane I converted to its religion. They give a whole dimension, sparkle and depth, so I'd rather to spend more money and have the quality urethane offers me rather than other type of eyes.