Varilux inventor Bernard Maitenaz

Celebrating the achievements of progressive lens inventor Bernard Maitenaz, the International Opticians Association (IOA) honoured his enduring contribution to optics with a posthumous Special Recognition Award at Silmo 2021.

Maitenaz developed the revolutionary progressive lens, designed to provide presbyopes with comfortable vision at any distance and end the long-running reign of bifocals, in 1959 as a 33-year-old engineer at La Société des Lunetiers, the predecessor of Essilor and Essilor’s progressive lens brand Varilux.

In developing the Varilux progressive lens, Maitenaz influenced the optical profession and the wellbeing of spectacle wearers across the world, said Elaine Grisdale, dispensing optician and IOA’s director of development. “We are all here because we share much affection for Bernard and this is underpinned by a real sense of gratitude… It was a joy to be able to use our skills, to take more complicated measurements, to choose the frame that would be the best adapted for the lenses and to be able to recommend a more effective vision solution to our patients.”

The Paris ceremony was attended by dignitaries from across the optical world, as well as Benoit and Alban Maitenaz, Maitenaz’s son and grandson, respectively.