The origin of eyewear

If Italy is the birthplace of the optical industry, Venice is undoubtedly its cradle. Although the precise identity of who first invented spectacles remains a controversial issue, the geographical origins of this craft are undisputed. No later than 1285, certain evidence is given of the existence of a Venetian glassworks that produced vitreos ab oculis ad legendum, or rather glass for reading glasses. The first use of the term 'spectacles' can be traced back to 1317 when it appeared in a commercial document giving a local merchant a licence to sell a progenitor of what we now call spectacles. The spectacle trade spread in the region thanks to itinerant traders, and it was only towards the end of the 19th century that industrial-scale production was started in Italy by Angelo Frescura, an optician merchant from Belluno. 

The first real spectacles were made of leather, later replaced by wood, natural horn as well as metal. Riveted in the centre, these rudimentary frames balanced precariously on the wearer's nose. Used mainly by the clergy and aristocracy, spectacles became a powerful symbol of culture and wealth. The next major development was the introduction in the 17th century of spectacles mounted in the shape of 'lorgnettes' or scissor spectacles (so called because of the shape of the handle). They were a perfect complement to the dandy fashion of the time and were often elaborately adorned with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl. 

About a hundred years later, frame design was revolutionised by the introduction of 'temple spectacles', the first with the use of generally steel temples. Towards the end of the 19th century, manufacturers introduced the use of plastic for the manufacture of frames, offering customers an even wider choice of models and styles. 

The first spectacles were fitted with convex lenses made of naturally occurring beryllium or quartz; thus only presbyopia could be corrected for the elderly. Later, glass replaced these materials, and from the 15th century concave lenses also appeared for the myopic. 

The Enlightenment period yielded the discovery of bifocal lenses, while contact lenses, widely believed to be the brainchild of Leonardo da Vinci back in 1508, were first applied at the end of the 19th century. The period after World War II saw the invention of resin ophthalmic lenses, while soft contact lenses were introduced to the market in 1970.