Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear with lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms that rest over the ears.
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that are colored, polarized or darkened. In the early 20th century, they were also known as sun cheaters.
Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate based in Milan which is the world's largest eyewear company. As a vertically integrated company, Luxottica designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails its eyewear brands all through its own subsidiaries.
Ray-Ban is a brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is best known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group for a reported $640 million.
An optician is an individual who fits eyeglasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with accessories. There are several specialties within the field.
Eye protection is protective gear for the eyes, and sometimes face, designed to reduce the risk of injury. Examples of risks requiring eye protection can include: impact from particles or debris, light or radiation, wind blast, heat, sea spray or impact from some type of ball or puck used in sports.
Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized by their bold appearance on the wearer's face, in contrast to metal frames, which appear less pronounced.
Essilor International is a French-based international ophthalmic optics company that designs, manufactures and markets lenses to correct or protect eyesight. Its headquarters is in Charenton-le-Pont, France.
Aviator sunglasses are a style of sunglasses that was developed by a group of American firms. The original Bausch & Lomb design is now commercially marketed as Ray-Ban Aviators, although other manufacturers also produce aviator-style sunglasses.
Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and eyeglasses have been manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, which in turn has belonged to the Italian Luxottica Group since 1999. Wayfarers enjoyed early popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, returning to popularity again in the 1980s through massive product placements. A second revival occurred in the mid-2000s.
Eyewear is a term used to refer to all accessories worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into eye protection, for fashion and aesthetic purposes, and starting in the late 20th century, computers and virtual reality.
GI glasses are eyeglasses issued by the American military to its service members. Dysphemisms for them include the most common "birth control glasses" (BCGs) and other variants. At one time, they were officially designated as regulation prescription glasses (RPGs). This was commonly said to mean "rape prevention glasses" due to their unstylish appearance. Similar glasses can be issued to inmates in state and federal prisons.
Browline glasses are a style of eyeglass frames where the "bold" upper part holding the lenses resembles eyebrows framing the eyes. They were very popular during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the United States of America. The glasses were first manufactured by Shuron Ltd in 1947 under the "Ronsir" brand, and quickly emulated by various other manufacturers. The design became the most common style of eyeglasses throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s before it was surpassed in popularity by solid plastic styles. Browlines enjoyed a renaissance as sunglasses in the 1980s before returning to popularity in the 2010s, with the rise of retro style and the hipster subculture. Chinese Premier Li Peng wore browline eyeglasses for 30 years from 1989 until his death in 2019.i
Cat eye glasses are a shape of eyewear. The form is closely related to the browline style, differentiated by having an upsweep at the outer edges where the temples or arms join the frame front. Cat-eye glasses were popular in the 1950s and 1960s among women and are often associated with the Beehive hairstyle and other looks of the period. They preceded the large bug-eye glasses of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Rimless eyeglasses are a type of eyeglasses in which the lenses are mounted directly to the bridge or temples. The style is divided into two subtypes: three-piece glasses are composed of lenses mounted to a bridge and two separate temple arms, while rimways feature a supporting arch that connects the temples to the bridge and provides extra stability for the lenses.
Cutler and Gross is a British luxury eyewear brand, founded by Graham Cutler and Tony Gross in 1969. It is based in the Knightsbridge area of London.
Randolph Engineering, Inc. is an American manufacturer of sunglasses, shooting glasses, and prescription glasses. Located in Randolph, Massachusetts, it is also the prime contractor for providing aviator sunglasses to the United States military.
Eyebuydirect, Inc. is an online retailer of prescription glasses, based in Austin, Texas. The company also sells prescription and non-prescription sunglasses, sport sunglasses, and computer glasses designed to reduce glare. Eyebuydirect was founded in 2005 by Roy Hessel, who was succeeded by Sunny Jiang, chief executive officer since 2017. The company has operations in the United States and China, and sells its products worldwide.
Clearly is an online retailer of contact lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company was acquired by EssilorLuxottica Canada, and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the largest online contact lens retailers in North America, and the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses online in the world.
The American Optical Company, also known as AO Eyewear, is a luxury American eyewear and sunglass company based in Vernon Hills, Illinois near Chicago. AO designs and manufactures in the United States.
