For Seller

By: Chris Em

The sunglasses we know and love today has it’s origins in the early 20th century, though the use of darkened lens is much older. The Roman Emperor Nero is recorded as wearing green lens made of emeralds while watching gladiator battles, and the Romans thought of emeralds as having vision strengthening powers.

In the 12th century and probably earlier, Chinese judges wore spectacles of smoky quartz to hide their facial expressions while in court, so as to look impartial when listening to testimonies and evaluating evidence. When introduced to Italy in 1430, these darkened lenses were also adopted by European judges. Nobody wore them as a fashion statement, and protection from the sun was never considered. Back then, everybody thought vision problems were simply the fact of aging, and gave it no further thought.

An English maker of scientific instruments named James Ayscough dabbled with spectacles, developing tinted lens around the 1750’s. He believed blue and green lenses aided in vision problems. These too were never considered for as sun protective instruments.

Modern sunglasses were worn as a fashion accessory before their intended use as sun protection. In 1929, Foster Grant sold the first pair of sunglasses, and the phenomenon took off.

Literally.

Sunglasses and the American Military

That’s because the use of sunglasses intended for sun protection has its roots in the American Air Force. In the 1930’s, they commissioned Bausch & Lomb to create a pair of glasses intended to protect pilots from the harsh, high-altitude glare of the sun. Using polarized lens technology developed by Edwin H. Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera, they developed a yellow anti-glare polarized lens. Realizing the huge market for this, they registered the lens as the brand name "Ray-Ban" in 1937, and marketed their sunglasses as protection for American heroes and targeted to active, sporty people.

Their ensuing success was massive, due in part to World War II and the "coolness" factor of air pilots. For instance, their advertising included the celebrated female air pilot Amelia Earhart sporting Ray-Bans. Their integrity and prestige were inarguably solidified by General MacArthur, commander of the Pacific fleet in World War II, whose Ray-Ban sunglasses, corncob pipe and military cap are of legendary and iconic stature.

Sunglasses, Modern Fashion and Health

Foster Grant, who originally introduced sunglasses into the United States, as well as Bausch & Lomb, used clever marketing tactics in the 1960’s to get celebrities to wear sunglasses. The advertising worked so well that by the 1970’s the industry was a multi-billion dollar business. Today, the fashion is well ingrained into American, European and Asian culture, with hundreds of companies making everything from cheap baby sunglasses to highly technological marvels with MP3 players. Though the original marketers probably never meant it as a health accessory, with the proven dangers of cataracts and eye cancer, sunglasses today are not only fashionable but a necessity.

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