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History of eyeglass lenses

How it all began
PUNKTAL® eyeglass lenses

At the beginning of the 20th century, Carl Zeiss revolutionized the calculation and manufacture of eyeglass lenses. The brains behind this technical development was Moritz von Rohr in 1912. He calculated point-focal imaging eyeglass lenses, which were marketed under the name PUNKTAL. They were the first axially-symmetric eyeglass lenses to minimize the blurring that occurs when looking through the edge areas of a lens.

It is still an integral part of the current ZEISS product line. Thanks to continuous advancements, such as new coatings or the incorporation of the wearer’s own visual parameters in the Gradal® series, Carl Zeiss Vision is still setting new standards in the area of eyeglass lenses.

Milestones

  • PUNKTAL® eyeglass lenses

    1912

    PUNKTAL®  eyeglass lenses revolutionize the calculation and manufacture of eyeglass lenses by applying the scientific approach of Allvar Gullstrand.

  • Scleral lenses

    1926

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

  • Alexander Smakula.

    1935

    Launch of a coating technique developed by Alexander Smakula to reduce lens reflection.

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

    1949

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

  • Anti-reflective coating for eyeglass lenses

    1959

    An anti-reflective coating for eyeglass lenses is launched as the ET coating.

  • SUPER ET multi-coating (highly effect anti-reflective coating)

    1974

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

  • A magnifying visual aid with 3.8x telescopic magnification based on the Keplerian telescope

    1979

    A magnifying visual aid with 3.8x telescopic magnification based on the Keplerian telescope is brought to market.

  • Gradal® HS

    1983

    ZEISS unveils Gradal® HS, a progressive lens with identical optical properties for both eyes in all directions. The trademark is now displayed on all eyeglass lenses.

  • VIDEO INFRAL®

    1992

    ZEISS unveils 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.

  • Gradal Individual®

    2000

    Gradal Individual®. ZEISS introduces its first individual progressive lenses that take the wearer’s own visual parameters into account.

  • i.Scription®

    2007

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

  • DuraVision Platinum

    2011

    DuraVision Platinum: ZEISS launches its hardest anti-reflective coating to date.