Varilux

Varilux is a brand name belonging to Essilor International, a producer of corrective lenses. 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 progressive lens is characterized by correcting near, intermediate and far vision.

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 cannot technically be considered the creator of 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 world's first commercially available progressive lens (Ultrifo) sold by "Gowlland of Montreal". This was based on an arrangement of aspherical surfaces.

Following in his father’s and in his grandfather’s footsteps, Bernard Maitenaz joined Société des Lunetiers (which became Essel, and is now Essilor) 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 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 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.

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Wikipedia