The Origin Of Horatio’s Shades Is Revealed

Discover the source of Horatio Caine’s iconic sunglasses and the role CSI: Miami‘s leading man David Caruso had in choosing just the right pair.

Greg B, assistant to Miami‘s executive producer Ann Donahue, penned a post on the official CSI: Miami blog at CBS.com to share the secrets of Horatio’s signature shades. The sunglasses are from Silhouette (model 8568/65 6062), and they were manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Austria. However, fans probably won’t be able to get their hands on a pair. “[T]hey stopped fabricating this model over three years ago,” Greg explained. “The last batch was kindly donated to CSI: Miami by Silhouette. There are only around 130 pairs that still roam in the wild today, and they all nest inside a black-steel cabinet, stashed and padlocked in the props office on the studio lot.”

“There are always around ten pairs on set,” revealed Assistant Props Master Katy Mau. Caruso is given a pair at the beginning of the day, and he hands them back when he has finished filming his scenes. Aside from CBS promotional appearances, Caruso doesn’t wear his signature sunglasses while not in character.

“Damaged pairs are also held by the props department,” Greg continued. “During the many rigors of television production, they do occasionally become dirty, scratched, or more rarely, completely broken. Pairs declared K.I.A are simply swapped out with a fresh set, and the departed set to rest in the cabinet with the other optic casualties.”

“We still get emails from fans about where they can find them,” Mau said. “I’d say your best chance would be to search eBay.” Property Master Bob Good said a pair of the glasses would “run you about 175 dollars a pair” if you were able to find them.

The original pair of shades was chosen by Caruso himself. “It was two days before we were shooting the first episode, “Cross Jurisdictions”, in Miami,” Good shared. “The first time we met. He told me he had gone to a store, picked out a certain style, and reserved three pairs.” The next day, Greg added, “Bob found the store and bought all of them.”