Are Zouks overratted?

[lyrajean]

So, as some of you are probably aware, I got my first FCS doll yesterday. One of the things I was really ecited about was seeing my first pair of Zouk eyes. I luv glass eyes...

I ordered them in 16mm neosium or GE-15. They have no flaws, but looking at them I'm thinking why are these so special?

I got a couple pairs of nice glass eyes at Kyoto dolpa that were about 4000-5000yen/pair. They see much nicer. (I like high dome, depth, and threading)

The zouks are nice, but well, blah... Maybe its the color? The character has grey eyes so it was that or ash grey...

Question for you are Zouks overratted? Overpriced at around $100/pair resale. Especially with all the options now in terms of specialty makers of both glass and urethane available.

[KeiCai]

Personally, I don't think they are. I have a pair of GE-21 and I prefer them over many of the other eyes I've seen, several Urethane companies included. I like their depth and clarity, as well as the colour and the threading. I'm excited to own more pairs once I order another FCS.

EDIT: My pair are about 2.5-3 years old, so I'm speaking from experience of the older eyes.

[Myth]

I think they are overrated. Very pretty yes... I like the threading better than the HG ones, but the 2nd market prices are ridiculous so I could live with simple HG eyes. But I wanted my cecile to have the same eye(s) as my F17, since they're supposed to be twins... so I ordered my MSD boy earlier than planned because I wasn't going to pay so much money for just eyes. unfortunately the eyes, although being GE-05 as well, don't look the same at all.. maybe because it's handmade or different sizes, but I was disappointed... my F17's eyes are 2.5 years old and way prettier than my cecile's shiny new eye(s).

Anyway, as pretty as they may be, I think they are more pricey just because you have to go through FCS to get a pair, unlike other eyes.

[Osaka]

They're nice eyes, but I think there are enough other equally nice options out there for much less. I like the ones that came with Laurel, but I don't think I'll be spending $100+ on the second-hand market to get pairs for everyone.

The one thing I do find disappointing about them is that they don't have any honest-to-god brown or hazel eyes. :\ Very frustrating for those of us who want our FCS kids to have more realistic shades of those eye colors.

[digikym]

I honestly don't care too much for Zouk eyes. When I compared the color and clarity to Enchanted Doll eyes, I found that I much preferred ED eyes.

Now if you're looking for something with delicate threading and quality of being hand-made and fragile, I would suggest Kanis Augen hand-blown glass eyes. They're very beautiful, have amazing depth, and the threading is gorgeous. They can run between $48 - $90, depending on if you get them through the manufacturer or a retailer. Price can also vary on the style of eyes you buy.

18mm Turquoise Iris-Rim Kanis Augen Full-Round Eyes
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/digikym/gary%20and%20petey/100_8280.jpg

Kanis Augen also offers colors very comparable to Zouk... they're just more fragile.

[bullyrabbit]

Based on the Zouks I have (they're 3+ years old), I don't think they're overrated. However, the secondary prices are too high. Regardless of how much I would like a few more pairs, I won't pay those prices. I'm more than happy with the HG and ED Eyes I own.

For me, color does play a part. Some Zouks color/threading combinations are absolutely stunning and others, not so much. I used to want a pair of GE-16 until I really saw them. They were very pretty and well made but it wasn't what I expected after reading so much about Zouks. The orange was too opaque and the medium grey threading provided no contrast. Then I saw GE-17 and understood the fuss. The orange was still saturated but there was so much clarity and richness. The yellow threading gave that little color pop I was looking for.

[Kurosakura]

Unfortunately, not all Zouks are created equal. It's a point worth mentioning. I've seen some with amazing depth, clarity, and threading that really did put them up there with the other high quality Japanese glass eyes. And then I've seen some which were really lacking. Big chunky threading, uneven shape, bubbles, etc. It seems the more recently made ones are not nearly as nice as the older ones. As mentioned above, some of the colours end up looking nicer than others too.

If you can find a pair of top quality Zouks eyes, I think they are worth the price-tag. But otherwise, you're much better off investing that money into some of the other nice Japanese glass eye makers or some urethanes.

[Janne]

Back when you could buy Zoukeimura glass eyes at Volks, they cost about 6000 yen - approximately $60. Based on the ones I have seen (and the similar cost of urethane eyes), I think they're absolutely worth that and somewhat more. (I'd pay $100 for a pair I liked.)

I do think they're probably not worth the inflated prices they sometimes go for in the marketplace - especially with the gorgeous colors available in urethane now.

[sgtgeorgecarter]

I think thee new ones are over rated. They are quite uneven in QA department handmade or not. There is no reason pupils can not be decently matched. My FCS from last year has something close to a match and have nice depth with a great colour but I would never pay 100+ for them. I have to say I'm a sucker for Hands glass eyes because I love how the threading is done and the colours that they offer. They also manage to consistently get pupils well situated across the board.

Now I've seen old Zouks and yes, they are pretty amazing, but the current crop, not so much.

[Hitasura]

I absolutely love my zourks, though I do totally agree that some colors are better than others. I absolutely love the threading in them, and the paperweight on them better than any other glass eyes out there. I paid 100+ for two pairs and I think they were worth every bit! I do wish they had greater color variation, as that's my only real gripe with them. It is kind of a shame they are only available through FCS, as that's the biggest reason their prices are as high as they usually are.

I also have this particular irritation with glass eyes that have a 'floating' pupil. In many cheaper glass eyes, the pupil is slightly raised inside the glass and it casts a shadow on the iris in the right light. (HG eyes do this, which is part of why I don't buy them.) not sure why this irritates me so much, but as zoruks don't have this issue, it's much love for me! <3

[lyrajean]

If you can find a pair of top quality Zouks eyes, I think they are worth the price-tag. But otherwise, you're much better off investing that money into some of the other nice Japanese glass eye makers or some urethanes.

Hmmm... I'd heard about the quality issues with newer eyes. Between that and the Kyoto Dolpa 5 problems and the LA sumika FCS wait, sometimes it does seem like Volks is going through growing pains again.

My Zouks have no flaws, but I find them rather flat. Of course, my point for comparison is the pair of Nx2 eyes I got from dolpa. Beautiful twisted threading, rich golden amber color, real crystal clear and deep, high dome too!Zander won't give these up. -Boy do I wish I could get another pair!

[Kurosakura]

I've owned eyes from several of the Japanese makers... but I only just bought my first set of NX2's the other day. After your description of them, I can't wait for them to arrive! They might end up replacing a pair of SILVER brand eyes for one of my boys. XD

[Seiko]

I'd just like to point out that, just like zoukeimura eyes, many of the high quality Japanese made eyes have a ridiculous price tag attached to them as well.

I personally do not really like the color range of the Zoukeimura eye line (I owned two pairs and now I only own Japanese maker eyes Miyabi, Hitomiya, and Silver). However, I've also come to realize that I actually don't like high dome eyes at all because most of them don't fit properly into my dolls head with the way I position them.

So no, I don't feel Zoukeimura eyes are overpriced any more than the other Japanese eyemakers eyes are overpriced because the second hand market is ridiculous and supply/demand. This isn't just on the American market either: the Japanese make these second hand prices skyrocket on Y!J as well.

Someone also mentioned how Zoukeimura have ranging quality, but both pairs I did own were lovely, they colors just weren't the right colors I wanted.

Back when you could actually buy Zoukeimura separately, they were much cheaper. Still more than the hand made Japanese eyes, but, well, you can see where the crazy inflation is coming from.

It's really just about preference in my personal opinion.

[Voodoo]

I'm thinking overrated. I had some of the pale purple ones that were lovely in person but incredibly hard to photograph without looking flat (and dark grey as well). I also had some of the pale blue ones where one had a very off centre pupil and airbubbles. I couldn't imagine how to set it without it being noticeable but I still managed to sell them at only $10.00 under the going rate. That was nice, but my mind did boggle. I probably could've got the full whack, but I just couldn't sell faulty eyes at that price.

I think Gumdrops and ED are the nicest eyes out there.

[girlwholived]

I am a Gumdrops (http://etherealangels.com/) gal. The majority of my dolls wear them, and if Grace were to add the right colours I would probably convert my entire collection to Gumdrops.

I am open to other companies, but Gumdrops are just full of awesome.

[Kim]

Depends on the eyes in question and personal preference. Several people in this thread alone talk about loving Gumdrops, which are the urethanes I like least. They have scratched and clouded more easily than ED or Droprop eyes I have owned.

Zouks are not 100% consistent across the board and so far as I have seen, older ones tend to be much nicer than more recent ones. Every pair of Antique Rose eyes I have seen, who were independently sold and made by the original Zouk maker from what I understand, are definitely worth their secondhand value. I really do prefer handmade glass in the end over other eye types. I'm willing to pay the higher price tags for eyes that meet my standards.

[mel]

Heh... so far I won't even pay $40 for eyes. I'm pretty happy with basic glass eyes. I guess I would have to see Zouks or urethane eyes in person to really understand what makes them so much better.

[Kokoryta]

Heh... so far I won't even pay $40 for eyes. I'm pretty happy with basic glass eyes. I guess I would have to see Zouks or urethane eyes in person to really understand what makes them so much better.

Or look at comparison pictures. I thought the same thing you did until I decided to buy a pair of secondhand Gumdrops on a whim. I couldn't believe it when I opened them- they glowed.

Compare the gumdrops (16mm, flagstone):
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q212/kokodolls/DSCF0896_v2.jpg

To his old glass eyes (Volks HG glass, cadet blue I think):
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q212/kokodolls/DSCF0745.jpg

Or even to Dorian's acrylics (Glastic real 16mm teal, or some such):
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q212/kokodolls/DSCF0816.jpg

While I can't say if Zouks are overrated, I've never seen any, I really don't think other urethane eyes are overrated.

[decadentarisu]

I have my gripes with my girl's Zouks sometimes as they're clearly from the newer batch and they don't seem to register perfectly on a camera unless when flooded with light. If not, it sometimes registers as a dark blue-black But even if the Droprops I have are more vibrant and easier to photograph, there's something about the darkness and intricate threading in the Zouks I have that makes my girl complete. Personally, I like the threading and gradient in Zouks better than most other eyes I've seen so far.

I guess Zouks are kinda overrated, though-- this new batch, at least. I hope I can get good blue-green urethane or glass eyes to at least try them out if they're any better than the Zouks in her right now.

[Tenshi]

I'm in agreement with a lot of people here. I like the Zouks I have, but I think they're terribly overpriced in the secondhand market. I don't own many glass eyes or ANY urethane eyes -- I prefer silicone since most of my dolls look somewhat strange in glass eyes. Maybe they have funky eyewells; I don't know.

The pair of Zouks I have are #10s that are pretty new (came with my one-off from the LA Dolpa). I guess I must be lucky, because even though they're new they have good depth and threading. They show up very well in photos despite being one of the darkest shades available.

[Sirius]

The Zouks I have are pretty, but I don't think I'll purchase anymore since urethane eyes seem to have more depth and colour to me.

[rkold]

I really like my DropRops, they're so far my favorites of the urethanes by a lot, however you sort of have to be fast to get a pair and hope they have the color and size that you want. I am sort of meh on Gumdrops, one of my pairs scratched so easily and it was very disappointing. I do like EDs but they don't always come in colors I want.

I do like some of my zoukeimura eyes, I personally was very disappointed in Neosium because the color was too pale and not really what I had expected. When made well, they are lovely eyes and photograph well. And just so everyone knows there were flawed eyes coming out a few years ago too, it just seems like there are more now. My first pair of zoukeimura eyes ordered with a FCS in Oct 05 came with a few flaws in them. ^_^;

I adore Silver and Hitomiya but unless you live in Japan or travel to Japan to attend Japanese events they are just as expensive or more expensive than Zoukeimura eyes. When you're going to Japanese events you just have so many more options than people.

Yesterday, I spent a small fortune on 3 pairs of Silver eyes. (though I'm worried one pair is too large for my doll ;;_;; ) The threading is beautiful and not too busy for me and the colors are just gorgeous and I love how they pick up light.

[flpinkboxsociety]

i am so thankful for this thread, as with my spring cleaning i am also revamping a few of my resin loves and new eyes are definatley in the budget. Thanks everyone for your opinions and information.

[SassyStrawberry]

to me, zouks are worth their price. even on the 2ndary market.

A comparison
http://www.sassystrawberry.com/fs/eyes1.jpg

http://www.sassystrawberry.com/fs/eyes2.jpg

for the record, please note that these eyes were purchased when volks was still selling zouks separately. I have heard that the quality of the eyes have dropped since then, but so far I have been very lucky with the other zouks that I have since purchased.

[Lien]

I don't care for glass eyes, so I'll probably never get a pair of Zouks. They are very pretty in their cases, but I would be terrified of dropping or breaking them.

[decadentarisu]

I don't care for glass eyes, so I'll probably never get a pair of Zouks. They are very pretty in their cases, but I would be terrified of dropping or breaking them.

But you know, glass eyes are actually durable :oops I dropped my zouks twice while fixing Ulalume and they don't have a single scratch on them. Heck, I fear a lot more for my Droprops since they feel so soft and light. I think among all the types of eyes I've handled, Zouks/Glass Eyes are the ones I feel the most secure about.

[Kim]

I don't care for glass eyes, so I'll probably never get a pair of Zouks. They are very pretty in their cases, but I would be terrified of dropping or breaking them.

Glass eyes are actually the strongest and most durable of all the doll eyes, with the probably exception of some of the more delicate handblown completely hollow kinds. Urethane eyes scratch very easily and can develop cloudy spots if touched with oily or dirty fingers, acrylic eyes are always breaking, cracking, and being eaten by putty, and silicone eyes can also get dirty and eaten. Glass....you can always clean off with water, toss them on the table, they won't get eaten by any putty, they're pretty damn durable.

[Osaka]

Glass eyes are actually the strongest and most durable of all the doll eyes, with the probably exception of some of the more delicate handblown completely hollow kinds. Urethane eyes scratch very easily and can develop cloudy spots if touched with oily or dirty fingers, acrylic eyes are always breaking, cracking, and being eaten by putty, and silicone eyes can also get dirty and eaten. Glass....you can always clean off with water, toss them on the table, they won't get eaten by any putty, they're pretty damn durable.

I'll second this! I've dropped eyes more times than I care to count, and the glass ones are incredibly tough.

Most glass eyes are not unlike kids' marbles, and if you've ever actually played marbles, then you know how durable those things are. I was astonished when I got my Zouks at just how solid they were. I was expecting something more along the lines of the hollow handblown types.

[Agnes]

Zouks have to be durable... because they frequently have to pried out of eyewells filled with hot glue! I got mine out without a scratch.

I was also set to be very impressed with my FCS's Zouks but when I got him I was rather disappointed, because they didn't live up the hype. I think my expectations were unrealistic at that point. I sold them on DoA for, I think, $150 in ten minutes, fastest transaction I ever had. If they were sold retail for $50, I'd say they are worth it. 2nd hand? Nah. One also has to consider that photography flattens the eyes out so the quality is not always apparent, and the way they are photographed can be very flattering. So sometimes a photo will make Soom acrylics look better than another photo's Zouks.

I do think there's a scale in quality to eyes, but everybody's idea of what's worth it is different. A couple of my dolls have Souldoll acrylics and I like them better than the default glass eyes I got. I bought some Ruddy Peach glass eyes recently, which have no threading in them, but I was so pleasantly surprised at the depth and color quality. So it's all subjective.

[Seraphina]

i really don't understand the hype of it all.... my fcs's Zouks are lovely i can admit that but i've never spent over i think $30 dollars on eyes... but then i only own like 4 pairs of glass eyes and like a bunch of polymer or acrylic ones... i have one pair of glass eyes i can't remember where i got them but they cost me only like $5 dollars and some change and they're probably the best eyes i've ever bought.... they follow you all around... where as my FCS's eyes... they don't seem to do that... right now my fave pair of eyes are these Schwarz Augen eyes i have on my sd10 boy.... i love their color... but i guess it's just up to ones own opinion... and what they can afford....

[clem_and_mikas]

I love zouks they are amazing I don't feel that way about any other eye brand so far, I'm trying to find something that I like because I won't by them second hand for 135 dollars and up.

For some reason I don't like the urethanes.

[Lokita]

Overrated? No. Excessively inflated price? Yeah.

I also don't like how much the quality seems to vary from pair to pair, I'm just glad that I've never seen a Zouk smaller than 16mm so I won't be tempted to try to get some for my girls. They do look good if it's a good pair but I don't want to end up with a dud and going why did I pay this much for a pair of flawed eyes?

[sheri]

I found this all very interesting. I now have some of each - Zouks and low dome ED eyes. I got curious about the Zouks about 2 years ago (maybe more?)and starting haunting the DoA marketplace until I got a few pairs to try. I paid between $100 and $125 for my set of Zouks. One nice think is you know you won't lose money on them if they don't work out for you.

I have twice ordered ED eyes too. It is exciting to prowl the gallery and agonize over which color to get. I like the cusom blends and colored pupil options too.

In my experience the Zouks are wonderful, especially in photos. In person they don't capture and hold light quite as well as the ED eyes, but looking at the photos on my monitor they both look great, plenty of life and energy. Actually sometimes the ED eyes can be a bit too intense for my tastes. I tend to want a more realistic effect and many of the ED colors look almost cartoonishly intense in the gallery charts.

I agree that the glass eyes are less prone to damage from dropping or tools or dirt. You do need a well shaped eye hole for them to sit in there nicely. And getting rid of every speck of Volks' hot glue is a pain! It can be trickier to do a side glancing look with them because they are so flat on the back. You wind up just sort of pressing on the edges of the back thru the putty.

One other thing I noticed is that the color of the ED eyes can be quite different in the doll compared to in the box or on a table. The Zouks seem to hold their hue and intensity more closely whether in or out of a doll head. I don't know why this is - The urethane must refract light a little differently than glass.

[mikan]

I have one pair of GE-11 (dense kite purple), GE-2 (blue-purple), and one Scarface Cecile's blind eye.

The threadings in GE-11 (http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!uE2pa96BBBYumDQE.nvCxVBt/article?mid=1981) are just beautiful, and they show up really lovely in pictures even with little natural light. In person, the eyes look pretty much 'alive' and the gaze is subtle, never too intensely which i absolutely adore.

The threadings in GE-2 are more subtle, but with natural light and at different angles, the pictures can capture different color tones, ranging from hints of blue to purple within a greyish overall shade. This makes it really interesting.

I have a pair of Hitomiya eyes, very attractive color but no matter how i angled them, my boy appeared to be staring right back at me :(

I am impressed with the quality of Zoukeimura eyes, but the color range is just too limited. Would love to get hold of Silver eyes in the future!

[Hitasura]

I also don't like how much the quality seems to vary from pair to pair, I'm just glad that I've never seen a Zouk smaller than 16mm so I won't be tempted to try to get some for my girls.

Haha, actually they don't even make zouks in sizes smaller than 16mm... which is a bit of a shame! (Even though none of my dolls need eyes that small anymore, so i guess I'm still okay. For now!) *knock on wood*

[Sakura]

I have one pair of Zoukeimura eyes, the GE-22 Deep Sea Blue, but even each eye seemed slightly different from each other. I do like them as they are my doll Alexandria (SD Mai)'s default now and I think I prefer the colors and vibrancy of DropRops overall for half the price of what I paid for the Zoukeimuras.

[pithetaphish]

As others have mentioned, now the original Zouk maker has gone to the big glass-blowing factory in the sky, the quality isn't as great as it used to be, but I don't think it's as bad as people are making it out to be. A good number of FCS orders have come through my living room over the past 18 months, and I've only had two pairs of Zouks turn up with flaws.

I don't believe current Zouks are worth the insane prices they go for in the secondary markets, but they're still damned nice eyes. If you don't want to pay secondary prices then don't, it's as simple as that. There's a plethora of options to choose from for eyes now - I think it's one of the best parts of the hobby :D

[Lokita]

Haha, actually they don't even make zouks in sizes smaller than 16mm... which is a bit of a shame! (Even though none of my dolls need eyes that small anymore, so i guess I'm still okay. For now!) *knock on wood*

Haha, that explains it! I only got my first doll in April so I don't know much about the bjd hobby yet.

[Loki]

I gotta agree with the 'inflated price' thing... Maybe it's just me, but over $100 for a pair of eyes is a little too much... I totally balked at the price of Mystic Eyes, which I love to death (I think more because of the colour and texture). The Zouks I've seen are nice, but not worth that price to me.

On a side note about the flaws... out of the four FCS orders I did, one eye came out flawed. There was a bubble in the eye and a chip as well (!) when it arrived. Volks sent away for a new one though, and I got a replacement in a week. Which was perfect looking... though I can't say how the quality measures up to the 'old' Zouks. ^^;

[ShadowLink]

...the quality isn't as great as it used to be, but I don't think it's as bad as people are making it out to be...

I don't believe current Zouks are worth the insane prices they go for in the secondary markets, but they're still damned nice eyes. If you don't want to pay secondary prices then don't, it's as simple as that. There's a plethora of options to choose from for eyes now - I think it's one of the best parts of the hobby :D

I totally agree! :nod

[pake4pleasanton]

My FCS has Zouks and I don't think it is so great. My one MSD Enn has beautiful Zouks. I think its just the eyes itself, some are better than others. I like Volk's HG eyes better. My favorite is the Hazel from many years ago. I like the olders Volks eyes. I think the quality has gone down. One of th HG eyes I bought had a dark spot in the whites. I couldn't tell when it was packaged.

Stephanie Y

[mrscollins]

Interesting thread.. I have been debating the issue of Zouks and other expensive eyes.. have yet to draw a conclusion.. it seems to be a matter of personal choice

[nikita]

If I had to choose between Zoukeimura and Antique Rose glass eyes, I'd go with Antique Rose for blowing $100+ on a pair of glass eyes. Antique Rose had more colors than Zouks. They can command the same amount of prices as Zouks.

I'm surprised to hear that the quality of the newer Zouks has gone down. That's sad considering they have been considered one of the best when it comes to glass eyes.

I do think it's ridiculous that Zouk eyes are being priced at over $90+. Yeah you can only get them when you order FCS but asking for more than $115 for a pair of eyes is just plain ridiculous.

[mrscollins]

I did break down and buy a pair of zouks -- 16mm GE-15... I'm still flinching over the what they cost secondary. They arrived today and upon opening them I just thought.. hmmm.. So I kept them nearby and kept looking at them trying to see what is so special and deciding who gets to wear them. Unless they look AMAZING when they are in place in someones sockets.. I really don't get it. But, I'm remaining open and prepared to be wowed :)

[Astrid]

I think zouks are pretty but not 100$ worth of pretty.. I have seen urethane of other brands alot nicer and for less...