Bausch and Lomb

Bausch & Lomb Eyewear

Bausch and Lomb, the famed manufacturer of of Antique and  Vintage Eyewear was founded in Rochester NY in 1853 by 2 great men. JohnBausch, and optician, and Henry Lomb, an investor. It is one of the oldest companies in the US still operating, let alone manufacturer of vintage eyewear.  

In 1853 Bausch and Lomb, both Immigrants from Germany, started by making monocles, the famed antique eyeglasses with one lens only. About 20 years later they continued their line with microscopes and later camera lenses. At the end of the 19th century they started making eyeglass lenses and soon followed with eyeglass frames. 

20th Century Eyeglasses and US Military Contract 

In the early 20th century with the expansion of the US Military and naval fleet Bausch and Lomb got the contract to provide high precision lenses through the supplier Saegmuller and later with the Zeiss company of Germany. Together they collaborated on a range of various optical lenses and products, including 20th century eyeglasses 

WWI and WWII Eyeglasses 

While no one likes wars, they definitely contribute to certain industries including the vintage eyewear industry. The need for searchlight mirrors,  binoculars and telescopes, range finders and torpedo tube lights only grows. While in the past they were able to import these from the Zeiss company and other German manufacturers, their new status as enemy did not allow for this to continue thus the need for US manufacturers. While there certainly were some 1930’s eyeglasses, 70% of Bausch and Lomb Production was dedicated to Military products. The most famous among them: Ray Ban sunglasses, originally manufactured for Pilots during WWII. 

During the same period they continued manufacturing antique eyeglasses for the public. Many of the most beautiful 1920’s eyegasses and 1940’s eyeglasses, Marshwood and P3 eyeglasses, were manufactured by Bausch and Lomb.  

Bausch and Lomb Cat Eye Glasses 

During the 1950’s and 1960’s Bausch and Lomb wasat the forefront of manufacturing vintage cat eye glasses. For the first time in history vintage eyeglasses got colorful and full of character. Creativity was in full capacity, perhaps more than can be said of today. Many VintageBausch and Lomb cat eye glasses have survived the 1960’s and are available today in our collection, many of them unused and in perfect condition! 

Bausch and Lomb & Contact lenses. 

During the 1960’s Bausch and Lomb was hard at work developing and perfecting the contact lens. In 1971 after two years and hard work and $3 Million later, Bausch & Lomb came out with their famous Soflens contact the lenses, the first made of a softer material and not of glass which was common until then. 

Restructuring and the end (at least as far as we are concerned.) 

Such a great company history makes you wonder why you haven’t purchased any Bausch and Lomb Frames recently? Well the answer lies in a restructuring! Not very different then most manufacturers of antique eyelasses. During the 1980’s different divisions were sold off, such as the ones manufacturing vintage 1980s eyeglass lenses, and later in the 1990’s the famed Ray Ban brand was sold to Luxxotica. Through a serious of acquisitions they opened a surgical department and have focused on that, as well as on their contact lens department. 

From humble beginings to where they are today at over $2 Billion in Revenue and 13,000 workers in 36 countries, Bausch and Lomb was one of the major players in the world of vintage eyewear and continues to be so today to those who love their current product, but especially to those who love their vintage eyewear!