Eyewear Through the Ages
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Transcript of 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.