Eyewear Through the Ages

EYEWEARTHROUGHTHE AGES

BY RALPH COTRAN

Since their invention over

700 years ago, eyeglasses

have greatly impacted the

course of history and

humanity.

According to a feature articlein Newsweek Magazine,

reading glasses areconsidered one of the mostimportant inventions of the

past 2,000 years.

The first "lenses" were createdbetween 1000 and 1200 AD and weresimple ground and polished crystals

that crudely magnified whateverwas in front of them.

Emperor Nero was said tohave used an emerald to

help him watch thegladiator games.

The first recorded use of "eyeglasses" was in the 1400s.In Italy, craftsmen and monkswore magnifying lenses that

were set in leather.

The invention of the printingpress in 1440 saw more and morepeople demanding eyeglasses in

order to be able to read.

It's believed that, during this time, spectaclepeddlers could be seen on most street corners.

At one point before the inventionof the earpiece, the most commonstyle of eyeglasses was the PinceNez or "pierced nose" in French.

These glasses had no arms toplace over the ears but rather sat

on the bridge of the nose andpinched it.

Teddy Roosevelt popularized thisstyle of glasses in the United Stateswhen they came back into style in

the 1840s.

By the 17th

century,

glasses had

reached

Britain. The first officialspectacles makers

opened in 1629.

It wasn't until the late 17th/early 18th century that an optician

from London named Edward Scarlett was given credit for

perfecting what was called "temple spectacles" - two arms

extended from each side of the lenses and pressed against the

temple to keep the glasses on the wearer's face.

They were later called "Around The Ear" glasses.

Benjamin Franklin is credited as having been the first toinvent bifocals in 1784. These dual-lens glasses allow the

wearer to have clearer vision both near and far away.

Sunglasses as fashion accessories took off in the 1930s.

This jump in popularity eventually lead tothe invention of the Polarized lens.

In the 1950s, contact lenses became readilyavailable, though early contact lenses differ

greatly from the lenses we see today.

Today we see an increase

in people opting out of

eyewear altogether and

choosing to undergo laser

eye surgery, a

permanent solution where

there used to be only be

temporary fixes.

Ralph Cotran is co-owner at US Optical, the

third largest optics firm in America. For more

information on all things optical, visit Ralph's

website or visit him on social media.