Varilux
Encyclopedia
Varilux is a brand name belonging to Essilor International
, a producer of corrective lens
es. The first version of the lens was invented by Bernard Maitenaz and released in 1959, and was the first modern progressive lens to correct presbyopia
. The Varilux lens is characterized by correcting near, intermediate and far vision.
While there were several intermediate steps (H. Newbold appears to have designed a similar lens to Aves around 1913), there is evidence to suggest that Duke Elder in 1922 developed the worlds first commercially available progressive lens (Ultrifo) sold by "Gowlland of Montreal". This was based on an arrangement of aspherical surfaces.
) in 1948 as a research engineer after receiving diplomas from École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers and Institut d’Optique.
The idea of the progressive lens came to him as he tried on his father’s bifocal lenses
. The abrupt transition of power offered seemed unnatural to him, and he believed it to be more rational to use a lens that would correct far vision on the upper portion of the lens, intermediate vision in its middle part and near vision in its lower part.
On March 2, 1951, Bernard Maitenaz deposited an envelope at the National Institute of Industrial Property in France
which included four drawings and mechanical data that would make it possible to manufacture the modern-day progressive lens. On November 25, 1953, Essel submitted a first patent
on his invention.
After testing the results on 46 people in January 1959, 5 gave excellent responses, 29 good responses, 2 average responses and 10 poor responses.
in Paris
, France
.
, United Kingdom
, United States
, Canada
, Brazil
and Japan
.
From sales of 6 000 lenses in 1959 to 2 000 000 in 1969, Varilux was becoming a successful venture, but the market still had some concerns regarding the adaptation time to the lens. Still working at improving his original invention using new technologies and calculations, Maitenaz and his team were working on the design of a new progressive lens with less aberrations, which would in theory provide a higher level of comfort to the wearer.
With this newly formed merger, Essilor launched the Varilux 2 in Europe, which adopted a better design than its predecessor and lighter lens material.
In 1993, Varilux Comfort was launched and became the world's best-selling progressive lens. Varilux Comfort represented a new concept of the progressive lens, it was the first progressive lens which combined the advantages of a "hard" design (type Varilux) and a "soft" design (type Varilux 2). The new surfacing techniques developed by Essilor made the adaptation much quicker than on previous progressive lenses and provided comfortable vision in all postures.
Finally, in the 21st century, Essilor launched Varilux Panamic (2002), Varilux Ellipse (2004), Varilux Physio (2006) and Varilux Ipseo (2008).
In 2008, the Varilux Ipseo New Edition was designed using Essilor's Virtual Reality system.
Varilux Experience demonstrates the technologies used to produce Varilux lenses, which are quite similar to those used in research laboratories, so as to provide an effective communication aid for optical professionals and their customers with presbyopia.
In a theater showing a 3D film, viewers wearing polarized, stereoscopic glasses follow in the footsteps of a young man with presbyopia. Stage-by-stage, he experiences the vision produced by single-vision and bifocal lenses, and then that of standard progressive lenses, and ultimately Varilux lenses.
The world premiere of Varilux Experience marked Varilux's 50th anniversary and took place at the SILMO optical trade fair, which ran from October 30 to November 2 2008 at Paris' Porte de Versailles
.
), new innovations were delivered on the Varilux 2. Essilor claimed that this new lens provided increased comfort and further ease of adaptation.
Essilor
Essilor International S.A. is a French company that produces ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmic optical equipment. It is based in Paris, France, and quoted on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange...
, a producer of corrective lens
Corrective lens
A corrective lens is a lens worn in front of the eye, mainly used to treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glasses or "spectacles" are worn on the face a short distance in front of the eye. Contact lenses are worn directly on the surface of the eye...
es. The first version of the lens was invented by Bernard Maitenaz and released in 1959, and was the first modern progressive lens to correct presbyopia
Presbyopia
Presbyopia is a condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects with age. Presbyopia’s exact mechanisms are not known with certainty; the research evidence most strongly supports a loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens, although changes in the...
. The Varilux lens is characterized by correcting near, intermediate and far vision.
Previous attempts to create a progressive lens
The first patent for a progressive lens was British Patent 15,735, granted to Own Aves with a 1907 priority date. Aves' patent included the progressive lens design and the manufacturing process. However this was unlike modern progressive lenses. It consisted of a conical back surface and a cylindrical front with opposing axes in order to create a power progression. This design was never commercialized. However, due to this patent, Essilor will never be able to say that they created the first Progressive Lens.While there were several intermediate steps (H. Newbold appears to have designed a similar lens to Aves around 1913), there is evidence to suggest that Duke Elder in 1922 developed the worlds first commercially available progressive lens (Ultrifo) sold by "Gowlland of Montreal". This was based on an arrangement of aspherical surfaces.
The idea
Following in his father’s and in his grandfather’s footsteps, Bernard Maitenaz joined Société des Lunetiers (which became Essel, and is now EssilorEssilor
Essilor International S.A. is a French company that produces ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmic optical equipment. It is based in Paris, France, and quoted on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange...
) in 1948 as a research engineer after receiving diplomas from École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers and Institut d’Optique.
The idea of the progressive lens came to him as he tried on his father’s bifocal lenses
Bifocals
Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism.-History:...
. The abrupt transition of power offered seemed unnatural to him, and he believed it to be more rational to use a lens that would correct far vision on the upper portion of the lens, intermediate vision in its middle part and near vision in its lower part.
On March 2, 1951, Bernard Maitenaz deposited an envelope at the National Institute of Industrial Property in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
which included four drawings and mechanical data that would make it possible to manufacture the modern-day progressive lens. On November 25, 1953, Essel submitted a first patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on his invention.
The first progressive lens
After patents and calculations, this type of progressive lens appeared to be possible, but had yet to be manufactured. Maitenaz and his team began producing progressive lenses using a variety of different improvised techniques and by 1958, Essel had developed machinery capable of mass manufacturing them.After testing the results on 46 people in January 1959, 5 gave excellent responses, 29 good responses, 2 average responses and 10 poor responses.
The Varilux brand
Closer to the product launch, numerous pricing strategies had been elaborated. In the end, Maintenaz’s invention would be fixed between Essels bifocal lens, the Diachrolux, and its trifocal lens, the Trilux. Without much brainstorming, Maintenaz’s progressive lens was given a name following suit with the other premium products: Varilux. The lens was launched officially in May 1959 at the Hotel LutetiaHôtel Lutetia
The Hôtel Lutetia, located at 45 Boulevard Raspail, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th Arrondissement of Paris, is one of the best-known hotels on the Left Bank...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
International appeal
Following the launch of Varilux, Essel set forth a plan for Varilux to be present outside of France. Through a number of partnerships and distribution deals, the Varilux lens began its distribution in a number of countries in the 1960s, including Holland, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
From sales of 6 000 lenses in 1959 to 2 000 000 in 1969, Varilux was becoming a successful venture, but the market still had some concerns regarding the adaptation time to the lens. Still working at improving his original invention using new technologies and calculations, Maitenaz and his team were working on the design of a new progressive lens with less aberrations, which would in theory provide a higher level of comfort to the wearer.
Varilux 2
At the start of 1969, two companies dominated the French ophthalmic lens market: Essel and Silor. Although both had created innovations of their own (Essel with Varilux and Silor with the Orma 1000 organic material), they were not major players on the international market. On January 1 1972, Essel and Silor merged and formed Essilor.With this newly formed merger, Essilor launched the Varilux 2 in Europe, which adopted a better design than its predecessor and lighter lens material.
The new generations of Varilux
As new technologies and manufacturing processes were being developed, the research efforts concerning Varilux continued. In 1988, the result came with Varilux Multi-Design, or VMD. The Multi-Design concept was a first stage of personalization of the progressive lens, a specific optimum design for each each age class of the presbyopic wearer . By the end of this decade, Essilor would become the world’s leading manufacturer in ophthalmic optical products.In 1993, Varilux Comfort was launched and became the world's best-selling progressive lens. Varilux Comfort represented a new concept of the progressive lens, it was the first progressive lens which combined the advantages of a "hard" design (type Varilux) and a "soft" design (type Varilux 2). The new surfacing techniques developed by Essilor made the adaptation much quicker than on previous progressive lenses and provided comfortable vision in all postures.
Finally, in the 21st century, Essilor launched Varilux Panamic (2002), Varilux Ellipse (2004), Varilux Physio (2006) and Varilux Ipseo (2008).
Research & Development
With the launch of Varilux Comfort in 1993, Essilor developed the dioptric loop method, making it possible to gauge wearer satisfaction. It involves using repetition until an effective result is achieved for the wearer. It comprises five stages:- Collection of the wearer’s physiological data
- Optical design
- Creation of prototype lenses
- Measurement control
- Clinical tests
In 2008, the Varilux Ipseo New Edition was designed using Essilor's Virtual Reality system.
Varilux Experience
In 2008, Essilor designed the Varilux Experience, a virtual simulation concept using the various ophthalmic solutions offered to presbyopes.Varilux Experience demonstrates the technologies used to produce Varilux lenses, which are quite similar to those used in research laboratories, so as to provide an effective communication aid for optical professionals and their customers with presbyopia.
In a theater showing a 3D film, viewers wearing polarized, stereoscopic glasses follow in the footsteps of a young man with presbyopia. Stage-by-stage, he experiences the vision produced by single-vision and bifocal lenses, and then that of standard progressive lenses, and ultimately Varilux lenses.
The world premiere of Varilux Experience marked Varilux's 50th anniversary and took place at the SILMO optical trade fair, which ran from October 30 to November 2 2008 at Paris' Porte de Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
.
1959: Varilux
As the first progressive lens, Varilux allowed wearers with presbyopia with a correction for near vision, intermediate vision and far vision, on the same lens.1972: Varilux 2
With the merger of Essel and Silor (forming EssilorEssilor
Essilor International S.A. is a French company that produces ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmic optical equipment. It is based in Paris, France, and quoted on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange...
), new innovations were delivered on the Varilux 2. Essilor claimed that this new lens provided increased comfort and further ease of adaptation.