The history of rimless eyewear

Visual aids have been around since the year 1200; every century has brought a group of innovations and improvements which have led from reading stone to rimless eyewear. One of the most important revolutions in the history of eyewear was achieved in the 20th century by Silhouette. The eyewear specialists from Austria managed to transform glasses into a coveted and beautiful accessory. Silhouette was the first eyewear brand in the world to place their focus on the person and their individuality and comfort. Their commitment to the aesthetics of rimless eyewear that brings out the personality of the wearer could be a milestone in the history of eyewear in the 21st century.

The history of eyewear and visual aids began around the year 1200 as Franciscan monks in England and Germany discovered the power of the reading stone – technically also called hemisphere-shaped flat concave lenses. Presbyopic monks used stones or lenses made from mountain crystal or the semi-precious and almost clear beryl stone—sometimes called goshenite today—to make reading and life easier. The far-reaching importance of the reading stone as a visual aid was recognized by the English Franciscan Roger Bacon (1214 – 1294) and described in his “Opus Majus”.

The foundations for visual aids and glasses were laid by the reading stone, which became flatter over time. Thanks to newer, flatter shapes, the reading stone could be embedded into a frame with a handle. The single glass or monocle was created—a predecessor to the modern magnifying glass.

At the centre of the glass manufacturing industry, in Venice, the groundbreaking idea of connecting two monocles together was born and brought to life—glasses had been invented.

The complete PR-Text is in the Silhouette Mediabox and available for download.