History of Eyeglass Lenses from Carl Zeiss

How it started

At the beginning of the 20th century, Carl Zeiss revolutionized the calculation and manufacture of eyeglass lenses. This magic moment in 1912 was the brainchild of Moritz von Rohr who calculated the point-focal imaging eyeglass lens, thus laying the foundation for Punktal® eyeglass lenses. It was the first axis-symmetric lens to minimize the blurring that occurs when looking through edge areas of a lens. It is still included in the current product line of Carl Zeiss. With continuous advancements such as new coatings or the incorporation of the wearer’s visual parameters in the Gradal® series, Carl Zeiss Vision is still setting new standards in the field of eyeglass lenses.

1912

Punktal® eyeglass lenses revolutionize the calculation and manufacture of eyeglass lenses, marking the implementation of the scientific approaches of Allvar Gullstrand.

1926

Scleral lenses used for medical purposes are the predecessors to modern contact lenses.

1935

Introduction of a coating technique developed by Alexander Smakula for the reduction of reflections on glass.

1949

ZEISS becomes the first company in the optical industry to incorporate physiological visual conditions into the design of eyeglass lenses.

1959

Anti-reflection coating for eyeglass lenses is introduced as the ET coating.

1974

ZEISS becomes the first company to apply the SUPER ET multi-coating (highly effect anti-reflective coating) to eyeglass lenses.

1979

A low vision device with 3.8x telescopic magnification based on the Keplerian telescope is brought to market.

1983

Gradal® HS, progressive lenses with identical visual conditions for both eyes in all directions; introduction of the trademark on all eyeglass lenses.

1992

ZEISS introduces VIDEO INFRAL®, the world's first computer-guided centration device, which enables exact determination of the centration data with the patient's head and body in a natural posture.

2000

Gradal Individual®. ZEISS introduces its first individual progressive lenses which incorporate the personal visual parameters of the wearer.

2007

i.Scription®: ZEISS becomes the first company to market the combination of subjective refraction and wavefront measurement.

2011

DuraVision Platinum: ZEISS introduces its hardest anti-reflective coating.

 
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