Rishi Mistry - History of Design - Eyeglasses- 22BDI015
EYEGLASSES
TIMELINE
The invention of eyeglasses interlaces with other pieces of history such as the one of optics and ophthalmology. Tradition and fashion also played a role in the evolution of this instrument. This timeline highlights some of the passages in all these different fields and will help us to better appreciate the heritage of the Luxottica Museum.
1200
In Venice they knew that rock crystal, when shaped into strongly convex shapes, helped vision while reading, and these “lapides ad legendum“ i.e. “stones for reading“ are acknowledged in the Capitulary which governed the Guild of “Crystal Craftsmen“: these were used as magnifying lenses and were simply placed over the object itself.
Furthermore these craftsmen also made crystal discs which were called “roidi da boticelis“, i.e. glass plugs that were used to close jars containing precious ointments. The scholar Luigi Zecchin deduced that by putting the eyes near one of the discs, all objects became clearly visible. In any case, in 1284 the “roidi da ogli“, “round glass for the eyes“, are present in the list of routine production items.
It is at this stage and right here in Venice that we can say that the invention of eyeglasses takes place i.e. when lenses are properly mounted and placed before the eyes: the history of making glass lenses leads to the history of eyeglasses.
1300
In 1301 the Giustizieri Vecchi, the superintendents of Venetian Arts, granted permission to all craftsmen to make “Vitreos to oculis ad legendum“ (glass lenses for reading) as long as they would sell them as glass and not as crystal in order to prevent fraud.
Then the first eyeglasses were made with round biconvex lenses, to improve farsighted vision. They consisted of two lenses; each assembled with a rim of metal or of wrought leather, riveted together at the end of each handle. They were held before the eyes by hand, in order to aid reading but there was still no way to wear them securely and steadily.
1600
Following the developments in the processing of wire drawing, metal frames, especially copper ones were increasingly used as, along with an appropriate shaping of the bridge, they could sit alone on the nose. This process being so simple and the resulting price being so low, the conditions were ready for mass production and an even greater distribution on the market.
The search continued to find new ways to secure spectacles firmly in front of the eyes: one was to tie the lenses to a supporting ribbon around the head, one was to join them right behind the ears another was a bar that was placed under the wig or hat. The need to wear glasses was continuously supported by the ophthalmology studies of the seventeenth century.
1700
The British optician Edward Scarlett was the first to perfect, between 1727 and 1730, the “temple glasses“: they were equipped with rigid side-arms pressing on the temples ending in large loops.
Another important innovation of the eighteenth century was the invention of bifocals or split lenses. Bifocals are lenses with two distinct optical powers, in fact each lens is actually divided into two parts: the upper part to correct myopia and the lower one presbyopia.
1800
Throughout the nineteenth century the most popular eyewear was the “pince-nez“ developed in the 1830s with oval lenses, without side-arms and whose stability on the nose depended entirely on a spring support of the bridge.
In the same period the frames became more slender, with increasingly thin metal temples that curled behind the ears. These frames called “Fili“ were significantly lighter.
In 1873 John Wesley Hyatt from the States patented the discovery of celluloid and a few years later Spencer used it to make eyeglass frames.
1900
In the first decades of the century following an ongoing production improvement, eyeglasses became not only irreplaceable for the vision but also a useful instrument to protect the eyes.
Over the years the circulation of pictures of celebrities from the world of motion pictures, fashion and culture, significantly affects the perception of glasses on people faces.
2000
The search for new materials combined with new technologies and design, make of Italian eyewear a world leader. The Italian eyewear district is in the Veneto region and has a history spanning over 700 years.
Thank You,
Rishi Mistry
22BDI015
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