John Lennon's sunglasses made in factory owned by Bath-based Inspecs sell for thousands at Sotheby's

A pair of sunglasses worn by John Lennon have been sold at Sotheby's in London for £137,000.

The glasses were made by Bath-based eyewear business Inspecs, which owns a factory in London's East End.

The frames, known as the Shallow Panto, were made by hand from rolled 18 karat gold and fitted with bespoke orange lenses.

The style is still one of the most sought-out shapes, according to Inspecs.

Robin Totterman, Inspecs' chief executive, said “This frame is beyond iconic, and I am delighted to hear it has been purchased by someone with such an appreciation of its provenance."

The frames are known as the Shallow Panto (Dr R Harrison)

Inspecs bought up the Algha Works factory, where the glasses were made, in 2011 and Mr Totterman says he discovered an archive of original technical drawings dating from the turn of the 20th century.

He said: "[I] heard stories from our craftspeople of the famous faces including royalty, icons of the silver screen and musicians that had passed through the factory for fittings.

"John Lennon himself had a number of frames from Algha Works, which was then the major supplier to the NHS.

'Good design is long lived'

"People love to hear how it’s made in exactly the same way," he added. "Good design is long lived as they say, so it’s no surprise that this particular frame design has endured many decades.

“There’s a huge interest in British-made product and it’s been my personal mission to protect this iconic producer of eyewear and tell its unique story.

"The important sale of John Lennon’s example of this frame dating from the 1960s highlights how these hand-crafted eyewear pieces become the style signature of those that wear them.”

John Lennon, who composed Imagine in 1971, was famed for wearing round-rimmed glasses. An identical pair to the ones sold are on display today at the Beatles Museum in Liverpool.

Inspecs was founded in 1898 and the Algha Works factory has been at the same site in London since 1932. Between the 1940s and 1985 the factory produced millions of NHS glasses.

The factory also produced Harry Potter ’s round-eye frames, and Harrison Ford and Sean Connery’s in the Raiders of the Lost Ark franchise.

Today, it produces a handmade collection under the brand name Savile Row Eyewear.