List of oldest eyewear companies

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This page provides a list of the oldest brands and companies operating only in the eyewear manufacturing business to date and in any country. "Eyewear", although a relatively modern terminology, refers to the category of all items and accessories worn over the eyes for fashion adornment, protection against the environment and medical issues, including glasses (also called eyeglasses or spectacles) and sunglasses. To be listed, a brand or company name must manufacture and sell its own eyewear products and remain operating, either in whole or in part, since inception. Generic optical stores, retailers and factories are not included in the list.

List of oldest eyewear companies

YearCompanyCurrent locationParent companySources
[1] [2]
1750 Dollond & Aitchison United

Kingdom

1777 C.W. Dixey & Son United Kingdom [3] [4] [5] [6]
1826 American Optical Company United StatesEuropa Eyewear [7] [8]
1853 Bausch + Lomb CanadaIndependent [9]
1865 Shuron United States [10]
1872 Lotos Germany [11]
1875 E.B. Meyrowitz United Kingdom [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
1875AsakuraJapan [17]
1877 Rodenstock Germany
1878 Gouverneur Audigier France [18] [19]
1878 Lozza Italy [20] [21] [22]
1879 Erker's United States [23] [24]
1880 Marius Morel France [25]
1882 Anglo American Optical United States [26] [27]
1883 Hakusan Megane Japan [28]
1887 Watanabe Megane Japan [29]
1907 Tokyo Megane Japan [30]
1905 Masunaga Japan [31]
1907 Taihodo Japan [32]
1914 Sterling Optical United States Emerging Vision [33] [34] [35]
1915 Moscot United States [36] [37] [38] [39]
1917 Persol Italy EssilorLuxottica [40] [41] [42]
1917 Kame ManNen Japan [43]
1918 Art-Craft Optical United States [44]
1919 Foster Grant United States EssilorLuxottica [45] [46]
1925 Jono Hennessy AustraliaIndependent [47] [48]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasses</span> Form of vision aid

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses and spectacles, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted 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, known as temples or temple pieces that rest over the ears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunglasses</span> Eyewear for protecting against bright light

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakley, Inc.</span> Manufacturer of sports eyewear

Oakley, Inc. is an American company headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, which is an autonomous subsidiary of Luxottica. The company designs, develops and manufactures sports performance equipment and lifestyle pieces including sunglasses, safety glasses, eyeglasses, sports visors, ski/snowboard goggles, watches, apparel, backpacks, shoes, optical frames, and other accessories. Most items are designed in house at their head office, but some countries hold exclusive designs relevant to their market. Oakley currently holds more than 600 patents for eyewear, materials, and performance gear.

Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate based in Milan. As a vertically integrated company, Luxottica designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails its eyewear brands all through its own subsidiaries. The company, presently organized as a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica which formed when the Italian conglomerate merged with the French optical firm Essilor, is the world's largest company in its industry, both prior to and after its merger with Essilor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persol</span> Eyewear company

Persol is an Italian luxury eyewear brand specializing in the manufacturing of sunglasses and optical frames. It is one of the oldest eyewear companies in the world and is owned by the Luxottica group. The name is derived from the Italian per il sole, meaning "for the sun". Formed in 1917 by Giuseppe Ratti, Persol originally catered to pilots and sports drivers. Currently, the company markets durable sports sunglasses. The company trademark is a silver arrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Jacob Bausch</span> American optician and businessman

John Jacob Bausch was a German-American maker of optical instruments who co-founded Bausch & Lomb. Over six decades he transformed his small, local optical shop into a large-scale international enterprise, pioneering the American optical industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essilor</span> French-based optics company

Essilor International is an international ophthalmic optics company that designs, manufactures and markets lenses to correct or protect eyesight. Its headquarters is in Charenton-le-Pont, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyewear</span> Items and accessories worn on or over the eyes

Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GI glasses</span> Eyeglasses issued by the American military to its service members

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. At times in the US Navy they were called to "Standard Navy Ugly Glasses" (SNUGs). Similar glasses can be issued to inmates in state and federal prisons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browline glasses</span> Style of eyeglass frames

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moscot</span> American eyewear company

Moscot is an American eyewear brand, headquartered in New York City, specializing in optical frames and sunglasses. It was founded in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in 1915 by Hyman Moscot, and is one of the oldest local businesses in New York City, as well as the 21st oldest eyewear company in the world still operating. It remains privately owned by the Moscot family.

Cohen's Fashion Optical is an optical retailer headquartered in New York City featuring fashion products such as eyeglasses, frames and sunglasses, lenses, contact lenses, and accessories. Professional eye exams are usually available with on-site Doctors of Optometry.

Erker's Optical Co. of St. Louis, Missouri is an optical company started in 1879 by A.P. Erker. A.P. Erker's brother, Olympic gold medalist August Erker later joined the business. It was the first manufacturing optical firm in St. Louis and provided all manner of spectacles, opera and field glasses, telescopes, microscopes, artificial eyes, drawing instruments, magic lanterns and stereopticons. The company also provided a full line of mathematical and surveying instruments as well as providing a repair service for optical apparatus.

Swans is the brandname of the Japanese eyewear manufacturer Yamamoto Kogaku Co., Ltd. located in Osaka, Japan. The company produces and sells optical lenses, sunglasses, goggles, as well as safety glasses. The sports eyewear brand Swans includes sunglasses, ski and snowboard goggles, swimming goggles, as well as helmets.

Optical 88 is a chain of eyewear stores in Hong Kong. It was established in 1984, as a member of Stelux Group of Companies, who owns largest professional optical retail network in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warby Parker</span> American eyeglasses and contact lens retailer

Warby Parker Inc. is an American manufacturer and retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Founded in 2010, it was initially an online-only retailer. It now sells primarily through more than 200 physical retail stores across the U.S. and Canada.

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.

GlassesUSA.com is an online retailer of prescription eyewear. It was founded in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearly</span> Canadian online retailer of eyeglasses

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacles (product)</span> Smartglasses for recording Snapchat video

Spectacles are smartglasses dedicated to recording video for the Snapchat service. This term is often used to address sunglasses and eyeglasses. They feature a camera lens and are capable of recording short video segments and syncing with a smartphone to upload to the user's online account. They were developed and manufactured by Snap Inc., and announced on September 23, 2016. The smartglasses were released on November 10, 2016. They are made for Snap's image messaging and multimedia platform, Snapchat, and were initially distributed exclusively through Snap's pop-up vending machine, Snapbot. On February 20, 2017, Snap Spectacles became available for purchase online.

References

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  3. ↑ "C.W. Dixey & Son - Fine British Eyewear Since 1777". cwdixeyandson.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  4. ↑ Sweet, Leon. "C W Dixey & Son". framesinthelanes.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  5. ↑ "The History of C.W. Dixey & Son". Vimeo. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  6. ↑ "The story behind Winston Churchill's glasses". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
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  9. ↑ "A History of Bausch and Lomb". nwmangum.com. Source: Kingslake, Rudolf, 1974, The Rochester Camera and Lens Companies, Rochester NY, Photographic Historical Society.
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  11. ↑ "Company - LOTOS Gold - Brillenmanufaktur, Uhren Kollektion, Handarbeit aus Deutschland". en.lotosgold.de. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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  25. ↑ "Marius Morel". morel-france.com. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  26. ↑ DigitalCavalry. "Anglo American Optical – About". angloamericanopticalltd.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  27. ↑ "20/20 Magazine > ANGLO AMERICAN OPTICAL: ANGLO AMERICAN EYEWEAR". 2020mag.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  28. ↑ "ABOUT HISTORY ｜ 白山眼鏡店". hakusan-megane.co.jp. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  29. ↑ "Watanabe Megane - History". watanabemegane.com. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  30. ↑ "Tokyo Megane - History". tokyomegane.co.jp. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  31. ↑ "Masunaga Optical - The Story". masunaga1905.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  32. ↑ "Taihodo History". taihodo.net. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  33. ↑ "History - Sterling Optical | Eye Care and Eyewear Professionals". sterlingoptical.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  34. ↑ "Sterling Optical - Franchising.com". Franchising.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  35. ↑ "Home". EmergingVision.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
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  39. ↑ UTC, Eli Epstein2014-06-11 19:19:40 (11 June 2014). "5 Generations in, Moscot Keeps Business in the Family". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  41. ↑ "The Legend of Persol". Optical Illusion. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  42. ↑ Vito Albino, Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli (2011). When Tradition Turns Into Innovation: How Firms Can Create and Appropriate Value Through Tradition. Chandos Pub. pp. 97–98. ISBN   9781843346647.
  43. ↑ "Eyewear Mebius - Brand - Kame ManNen". eyewearmebius.com/. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  44. ↑ "Art-Craft Optical Co., Inc. - Company History (Page 1)". artcraftoptical.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  45. ↑ "Foster Grant Collection A description of the collection at Syracuse University". library.syracuse.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  46. ↑ "FGX Home". FGXI. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  47. ↑ "Sunshades Eyewear | Jono Hennessy".
  48. ↑ Daniel, Feldman (11 January 2017). "100 of the Oldest Eyewear Companies In The World | The Optical Journal". www.opticaljournal.com.
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