Reading glasses first appeared in Italy in the 1260's to help the elderly to read, these were for those whose vision had become blurred due to age. Their popularity was instant, and paintings from the time began to depict wearers in both religious and scholarly settings.
However the initial design had a enormous problem: with only the bare basics of lenses and a nose bridge, there was no easy way to keep the darn things from slipping down the nose. They had to hold them in place, which limited their use. The Spaniards tried connecting them to ribbons looped around the ears, but that never worked.
In 1730-nearly 500 years after they were first introduced-that a London optician named Edward Scarlett finally devised the rigid sidepieces that rest at top of the ears. The perfection spread rapidly, and is still in use today.
Eyeglasses consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. Roger Bacon probably invented the first device of this kind in the 13th cent. Although similar devices have been existed in ancient times in China and in the Mediterranean civilizations. Early forms were unsophisticated and awkward and were not improved till the 18th century, when the grinding of lenses started based upon the principles of refraction light.
Eyeglasses frames are typically made of either metal frames or a type of plastic frames called cellulose acetate. Cellulose acetate is derived from cotton and is flexible and strong. It is produced in long narrow sheets that are slightly wider than eyeglass frames.
Lenses were made of plain or rock crystal glass or plastic to suit the defect of the eyes.
Benjamin Franklin had developed the bifocal reading glasses in the 1780's, because he got tired of changing to reading glasses whenever he opened a book, which was often. He had his optician cut the lenses in two so he just had to look up and down instead of switching glasses. This is still in use today.
A contact lens is shaped to fit the eye and is worn under the eyelid. Incorrect eyeglasses may do harm, and lenses should be prescribed by an ophthalmologist or optometrist and fitted by a skilled optician. Eyeglasses to protect the eyes from glare are made of tints or polarized glass. The Eskimo make and use wooden eyeglasses that have only narrow slits for eyepieces to protect the eyes from glare reflected by ice and snow.
It is possible to assume, that the absence of such means significantly prevented the development of sciences and the art of thin crafts in the previous centuries.
Today we have a wide variety of eye care products ranging form rimless frames, semi rimless frames, plastic frames, metal frames, titanium frames with bifocals lens, progressive lens with different tints, anti reflective coating, anti scratch coating, photo chromic lens, ultra violent etc. You can find all the above-mentioned products at BMG without going anywhere to your doorstep.
