All about Glasses and Eyewear

Eyeglasses were first used in Europe in Italy, and some portraits dating from the Middle Ages depict persons wearing eyeglasses. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the demand for eyewear increased and by 1629 was large enough for a charter to be granted to a guild of spectacle makers in England. The first bifocal glasses were made for Benjamin Franklin at his suggestion about 1760. In early times the only eyeglasses having spherical lenses were manufactured to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness. Not until the end of the 19th century did the cylindrical lens for the correction of astigmatism come into common use.

Eyeglasses are lenses or prisms worn in front of the eyes to compensate for various defects of vision. The most common form of eyeglasses consists of a pair of plastic lenses in a metal or plastic frame fitted to the bridge of the nose. The frame is held in place by spring pressure on the nose or by temples, or arms that grip the head or hook around the ears. Eyewear with lenses made of a hard plastic is commonly used for reasons of increased safety and light weight.

Other forms of eyeglasses include those held in place by pressure on the nose, usually called pince-nez (French, "pinch nose"). Single lenses used to correct the sight of one eye, held in place by wedging in the orbit of the eye, are known as monocles. Glasses with a handle rather than temples, occasionally employed for reading, are called lorgnettes.

The lenses of eyeglasses are ground in the form of concave spherical lenses for nearsightedness (myopia), convex spherical lenses for farsightedness (hyperopia), cylindrical lenses for astigmatism, and prisms for defects of convergence. Frequently it is necessary to grind lenses in a combination of these forms to correct several anomalies at once. Bifocal lenses are used to give a different amount of correction for vision at a distance and for close work. The upper part of such lenses is ground for distant vision and the lower part for close vision, so that the user has merely to lower the eyes to read and raise them to look at distant objects. Trifocal glasses are bifocals that are ground with a center lens for intermediate distance.

Glasses are worn to protect the eyes as well as to correct visual defects. The colored glasses, or sunglasses, worn to protect the eyes against the rays of the sun are a familiar example. To protect their eyes from the actinic rays of welding flames, workers wear glasses of a deeper tint. Machinists and other factory workers wear glasses or goggles of great strength to shield their eyes from flying particles of metal, and aviators and racing drivers wear goggles to shield their eyes from the wind. Watertight goggles permit divers to see under water. Ski goggles help skiers with their sight as well.

Today, glasses do more than just correct your vision. They have also become fashion statements. For example, celebrities such as Elton John and Lisa Loeb are known for their ever-present eyewear. Ms. Jacky O. is also known for her signature large sunglasses that many stars now are still imitating, like Nicole Ritchie or Paris Hilton.

Eyewear Design by Frances is an eye clinic that caters to both function and fashion with their array of glasses, goggles, and sunglass collection. They carry designer frames and brand names such as BCBG, Caviar, Cazal, Juicy Couture, Police, Costa del Mar, Jaguar, Jhane Barnes, Lulu Guinness, LaCoste, bebe, Vera Wang, Menezzi, Daniel Swarovski, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Nicole Miller, Carrera, Goldfinch, TMX, Alex Nicole, Diva, and many more.

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