Bifocal Sunglasses and Rimless Bifocals

The United States gentleman of scientific discipline, Ben Franklin, who persevered both nearsightedness as well as presbyopia, devised bifocals in 1784 to avoid needing to often alternate between two frames of glasses.

The first lens pair intended for rectifying astigmia were distributed by the British stargazer George Airy in the year 1825.

In the history of reading bifocals, the building of pectacle frames also evolved. In early stages glasses were designed to be either kept in place with your hand or by maintaining force on the nose. Girolamo Savonarola noted that eyeglass lenses could be kept in place with a ribbon passed over a person’s head, which in turn was fastened by the weight of a hat.

During recent bifocal history, the contemporary fashion of bifocal spectacles supported by temples passing over the ears, was produced in 1727 by the British lens creator Edward Scarlett. These designs were not instantly prosperous, however, and various styles with attached handles like “scissors-glasses” and lorgnettes remained fashionable throughout the eighteenth and into the early nineteenth century.

In the early 20th century, Moritz von Rohr at Zeiss made the Zeiss Punktal spherical point-focus lens system which dominated the eyeglass lens field for several years.

Despite the improving fame of contacts and laser restorative eye surgery, eyeglasses stay quite common, as their technology has continued to improve. For example, it’s currently possible to buy frames constituted of special memory metal alloys that return to their correct configuration after being bent. Other frames have spring-loaded hinges.

Glasses have come a long way, haven’t they? In fact, today you can even buy bi focal sunglasses.

Many of these designs are also distinctly better capable of resisting the rigors of day-to-day wear and tear and the occasional accident. Contemporary frames are likewise frequently constructed from robust, light-weight materials like titanium alloys which weren’t obtainable in earlier times.