From ophthalmic optics research to the birth of Varilux lenses

The Varilux brand was the dream of an exceptional man: Bernard Maitenaz. In the 1950’s, when trying on his father's flat-top bifocals, Bernard Maitenaz decided that the concept required some rethinking. As a 25-year-old engineer, he took on the challenge of creating a lens that would allow people to see from any distance: the progressive lens.

On March 2, 1951, Bernard Maitenaz filed a Soleau envelope at the National Institute of Industrial Property to officially register the date Varilux lenses were invented.

The invention of progressive lenses represents a revolution for presbyopes!

Gone are the days of multiple eyeglasses, thick lenses and bifocals, which split the lens in two to correct distance vision and near vision. Fifty years later, Varilux lenses have changed the lives of hundreds of million of presbyopes and revolutionized the world of ophthalmic optics!