last word
Famous Opticians
Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC
At this year's Transitions Academy, Alexis Cordona, Transition's chief marketing officer, had this to say about optical: “It's a noble industry. It's amazing what we've accomplished as an industry in 20 years.”
His words made me think about notable events that have occurred during my 30-plus year career, lens product-wise: the transition from glass to plastic; the introduction of polycarbonate, Trivex, and high index; milestones in photochromic, polarized, and anti-reflective technologies; the digital/free-form revolution; and liquid, composite, and 3D lenses.
The market has experienced bold changes, too: from private-pay to third-party; few functional products to many fashionable options; brick-and-mortar to some online retailing; word-of-mouth to word-of-blog; acquisitions in manufacturers, labs, and retail sectors; labs as manufacturers; cataract surgery with lens implants; vision corrective surgery; co-management-/three-O practices; and many more.
This made me reflect on the optician's role throughout history, and I spent an afternoon researching it.
George Adams, Jr. (1750-1795): Mainly credited with developing the lorgnette, he was a writer and globe maker. He also succeeded his father as instrument maker to King George III and was designated optician to the Prince of Wales.
James Ayscough (1700s): He designed and made scientific instruments (telescopes, microscopes, thermometers) and reportedly recommended tinted lenses for certain vision conditions—which perhaps introduced modern-day sunlenses.
John Jacob Bausch (1830-1926) and Henry Lomb (1828-1908): Bausch, an optician, and Lomb, a carpenter, were both immigrants to the U.S. They co-founded Bausch + Lomb in 1853.
Peter Dollond (1731-1820): He designed and manufactured optical instruments including the Dollond telescope (reportedly used by Admiral Lord Nelson and Captain James Cook). He invented a triple achromatic lens which improved telescopic and navigation instruments by reducing chromatic aberration and spherical error.
J.F. Voigtlander (1800s): He promoted and produced the monocle in Vienna as a functional, yet fashionable, device. He is also generally credited for creating opera glasses by combining two opera telescopes in a frame with two bridges. EB
| FOUNDING FATHERS |
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| If the names Ernst Abbe, Otto Schott, and Carl Zeiss sound familiar, they should. These three men spearheaded optical concepts and technologies still in use today and were cofounders of Schott & Associates Glass Technology Laboratory (1884). Their collaboration specialized glass production and made large-scale microscope production possible. Ernst Abbe, a physicist, is known as the founder of scientific optics and created the theory of optical imaging in 1871. Otto Schott is remembered as the founder of modern glass science, technology, and the specialized glass industry. Carl Zeiss, an optician and optical and precision mechanics specialist who founded an optical workshop in Jena, Germany, in 1946, is known for his breakthrough optical concepts and making optics an art and a science. |
| Senior editor Karlen McLean has been in the optical industry for 35 years. She has spent half of that time in the dispensary. In this monthly column, Karlen shares her own experiences, and hopes you'll share yours. Contact her via email at Karlen.Mclean@WoltersKluwer. com or online at facebook.com/eyecarebusiness. |
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