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]
1816 Campbell Optik GermanyIndependent (sister company: Friedrichs Optik) [7] [8] [9] [10]
1826 American Optical Company United StatesEuropa Eyewear [11] [12]
1853 Bausch + Lomb CanadaIndependent [13]
1865 Shuron United States [14]
1872 Lotos Germany [15]
1875 E.B. Meyrowitz United Kingdom [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
1875AsakuraJapan [21]
1877 Rodenstock Germany
1878 Gouverneur Audigier France [22] [23]
1878 Lozza Italy [24] [25] [26]
1879 Erker's United States [27] [28]
1880 Marius Morel France [29]
1882 Anglo American Optical United States [30] [31]
1883 Hakusan Megane Japan [32]
1887 Watanabe Megane Japan [33]
1907 Tokyo Megane Japan [34]
1905 Masunaga Japan [35]
1907 Taihodo Japan [36]
1914 Sterling Optical United States Emerging Vision [37] [38] [39]
1915 Moscot United States [40] [41] [42] [43]
1917 Persol Italy EssilorLuxottica [44] [45] [46]
1917 Kame ManNen Japan [47]
1918 Art-Craft Optical United States [48]
1919 Foster Grant United States EssilorLuxottica [49] [50]
1925 Jono Hennessy AustraliaIndependent [51] [52]

References

  1. ↑ 村田眼鏡舗. "村田眼鏡舗". murata-gankyoho.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Murata Gankyoho". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  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.
  7. ↑ "Kultläden – Wo schon Bismarck seine Brillen kaufte". Hamburger Abendblatt. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  8. ↑ "Hamburgs älteste Traditionsgeschäfte in Familienhand". Die Welt ICONIST. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  9. ↑ "Meine blauen Gläser machen mich so sentimental". Die Welt. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  10. ↑ "Home". Campbell Optiker since 1816. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  11. ↑ "History | AO Eyewear, Inc". aoeyewear.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  12. ↑ "American Optical Manufacturing Company of Southbridge, Massachusetts". antiquespectacles.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  13. ↑ "A History of Bausch and Lomb". nwmangum.com. Source: Kingslake, Rudolf, 1974, The Rochester Camera and Lens Companies, Rochester NY, Photographic Historical Society.
  14. ↑ sale, Eyeglasses for. "Shuron Ltd. / Shuron.com". shuron.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  15. ↑ "Company - LOTOS Gold - Brillenmanufaktur, Uhren Kollektion, Handarbeit aus Deutschland". en.lotosgold.de. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  16. ↑ "Glasses for the Happy Few: E.B.Meyrowitz Eyewear". parischerie.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  17. ↑ "Home". ebmeyrowitz.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  18. ↑ AnOther (26 April 2012). "E.B. Meyrowitz". AnOther. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  19. ↑ Muchowski, Keith (26 November 2013). "Theodore's spectacles". The Strawfoot. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  20. ↑ "Spectacles of Well Known People in History (Part Six)". antiquespectacles.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  21. ↑ "企業情報 | ロービジョンケアの朝倉メガネ". Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  22. ↑ "Clément Gouverneur - Detail freaks since 1878". clement-gouverneur.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  23. ↑ "Clément Gouverneur & GOUV/AU". Eyewear. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  24. ↑ "Lozza: the fascinating history of sunglasses made in Italy | DaringToDo.com International". en.daringtodo.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  25. ↑ Molho, Renata (2009). Una storia di occhiali. A History of Eyeglasses. Electa. ISBN   9788837068950.
  26. ↑ "Lozza". lozzaocchiali.it. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  27. ↑ "Heritage | Erker's". erkers.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  28. ↑ Lambo, Turquil. "America's Finest: Erker's Fine Eyewear | America's Finest | INVISION". invisionmag.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  29. ↑ "Marius Morel". morel-france.com. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  30. ↑ DigitalCavalry. "Anglo American Optical – About". angloamericanopticalltd.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  31. ↑ "20/20 Magazine > ANGLO AMERICAN OPTICAL: ANGLO AMERICAN EYEWEAR". 2020mag.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  32. ↑ "ABOUT HISTORY ｜ 白山眼鏡店". hakusan-megane.co.jp. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  33. ↑ "Watanabe Megane - History". watanabemegane.com. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  34. ↑ "Tokyo Megane - History". tokyomegane.co.jp. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  35. ↑ "Masunaga Optical - The Story". masunaga1905.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  36. ↑ "Taihodo History". taihodo.net. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  37. ↑ "History - Sterling Optical | Eye Care and Eyewear Professionals". sterlingoptical.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  38. ↑ "Sterling Optical - Franchising.com". Franchising.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  39. ↑ "Home". EmergingVision.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  40. ↑ Jones, Justin (2015-01-15). "Moscot, A New York Legend, Turns 100". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  41. ↑ "Our Story | MOSCOT". moscot.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  42. ↑ "The 100-Year Vision of Moscot Eyewear". The Forward. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  43. ↑ 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)
  44. ↑ "History - Official Persol Site - USA". Persol.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  45. ↑ "The Legend of Persol". Optical Illusion. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  46. ↑ 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.
  47. ↑ "Eyewear Mebius - Brand - Kame ManNen". eyewearmebius.com/. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  48. ↑ "Art-Craft Optical Co., Inc. - Company History (Page 1)". artcraftoptical.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  49. ↑ "Foster Grant Collection A description of the collection at Syracuse University". library.syracuse.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  50. ↑ "FGX Home". FGXI. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  51. ↑ "Sunshades Eyewear | Jono Hennessy".
  52. ↑ Daniel, Feldman (11 January 2017). "100 of the Oldest Eyewear Companies In The World | The Optical Journal". www.opticaljournal.com.
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