optician optician "dispensing optician" redirects here. for ophthalmic optician, see optometry. a us navy optician adjusting a customer's glasses trial frame and lenses overview an optician is an individual who fits eyeglasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. they are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with accessories. there are specialties within the opticianry field. dispensing optician or ophthalmic dispenser a dispensing optician is anyone who prepares, fits, and dispenses prescription lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses, contact lenses, or any other type of vision-correcting optical device to the intended user. they may interpret optical prescriptions issued by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or physician for the lab optician who fabricates vision-correcting optical lenses. they also measure inter-ocular or pupillary distances, vertex distances, pupil fitting heights, and frame angles to determine the proper position of vision-correcting lenses. in addition, they adapt, modify or align frames with vision-correcting lenses to the face of the intended wearer, dispensing opticians must have a basic knowledge of laboratory techniques such as lens surfacing and lens preparation. mechanical optician, lab optician, or ophthalmic lab technician ophthalmic laboratory technicians must understand optics and how to use machinery in order to surface, coat, edge, or finish lenses according to specifications provided by dispensing opticians. they typically insert lenses into frames, also called glazing, to produce finished glasses and conduct all quality and safety testing required by the respective local and country regulations. although most lenses are designed with fully automated equipment, such as computer-based generators, automatic edgers, and lens measurement instruments, a highly-skilled lab optician will often finish lenses by hand for more difficult prescriptions and lens designs in order to have the best-finished outcome. contact lens fitter or contact lens technician contact lens fitters may work independently or under the direction of an ophthalmologist or optometrist to fill a doctor's prescription for contact lenses. a patient must obtain a prescription for contact lenses from a physician and then the fitter will review contact lens handling, fitting, and follow-up care. contact lens fitters must have computer skills, communication skills, and an understanding of medical-legal implications. ocularist an ocularist is a trained technician who specializes in fitting a patient with a prosthetic eye after management by an ophthalmologist. ocularists are trained in assessing the status of the orbit, fabricating and fitting a cosmetic ocular prosthesis, and periodically monitoring the prosthesis and related tissues. they ensure the correct fitting, shaping, and painting of ocular prostheses. the ocularist also educates the patient on handling and care of the prosthesis. ocularists provide long-term care through follow-up examinations for evaluation and polishing of prostheses. work environment corporate practice corporate practices may require more night and weekend work hours than other work environments due to the longer hours of the corporate chains. many who work for them report the trade-off is greater room for growth, higher pay, and better benefits due to the larger scale of the employer. purchasing of goods is conducted by the corporate headquarters and not by individuals at the locations. independent practice owned by the optician themselves, opticians who operate independent practices have all of the responsibilities of an entrepreneur/business owner as well as an optician. in the united states, due to certain local and state regulations, opticians cannot employ optometrists in various areas and are limited in some vision discount plans they can accept. this means they must rely more heavily on walk-in consumers than those who are owned by a doctor. optometrist or ophthalmologist office a smaller, more intimate environment than corporate or clinical, doctor-owned practices usually don't require as many evening or weekend hours as corporate locations; however, every medical office is different and will have a unique set of features and characteristics. hospitals / clinics program description opticians working in a hospital or clinic typically oversee patient care, administer treatment and operate medical equipment under the supervision of an ophthalmologist or optometrist. lab manufacturing this role typically does not work directly with patients and it is centered around the use of high-tech equipment and hand-held tools. history of opticians and spectacle makers main article: glasses § history of eyeglasses "he nose the eyes". 1910 advertisement for dr. felix gaudin, "graduate optician", new orleans the first known artistic representation of eyeglasses was painted by tommaso da modena in 1352. he did a sequence of frescoes of brothers efficiently reading or replicating manuscripts; one holds a magnifying glass while the other has glasses suspended on his nose. once tommaso had established the example, other painters positioned spectacles on the noses of many of subjects, almost certainly as a representation of wisdom and respect. one of the most noteworthy developments in spectacle production in the 15th century was the introduction of concave lenses for the myopic or nearsighted. pope leo x, who was very myopic, wore concave spectacles when hunting and professed they enabled him to see clearer than his cohorts. the first spectacles utilized quartz lenses since optical glass had not been developed. the lenses were set into bone, metal and leather mountings, frequently fashioned like two small magnifying glasses with handles riveted together and set in an inverted v shape that could be balanced on the bridge of the nose. the use of spectacles extended from italy to germany, spain, france and portugal. from their inception, eyeglasses posed a dilemma that wasn't solved for almost 350 years: how to keep them on the bridge of the nose without falling. spanish spectacle makers of the 17th century experimented with ribbons of silk that could be attached to the frames and then looped over the ears. spanish and italian missionaries carried the new models to spectacle wearers in china. the chinese attached little ceramic or metal weights to the strings instead of making loops. in 1730 a london optician named edward scarlett perfected the use of rigid sidepieces that rested atop the ears. this perfection rapidly spread across the continent. in 1752 james ayscough publicized his latest invention, spectacles with double hinged side pieces. these became very popular and appear more often than any other kind in paintings and prints of the period. lenses were fabricated of tinted glass as well as clear. ayscough felt that the clear glass lenses gave an unpleasant glare. in spain in 1763 pablo minguet recommended turquoise, green, or yellow lenses but not amber or red. europeans, in particular the french, were self-conscious about the use of eyeglasses. parisian aristocrats used reading aids only in private. the gentry of england and france used a "perspective glass” or monocular which could be concealed from view easily. in spain, however, spectacles were popular amongst all classes since they considered eyeglasses made them look more important and dignified. far-sighted or aging colonial americans imported spectacles from europe. spectacles were primarily for the affluent and literate colonists, who required a valuable and precious appliance. benjamin franklin in the 1780s developed the bifocals. bifocal lenses advanced little in the first half of the 19th century. the terms bifocal and trifocal were introduced in london by john isaac hawkins, whose trifocals were patented in 1827. in 1884 b. m. hanna was granted patents on two forms of bifocals which become commercially standardized as the "cemented" and "perfection" bifocals. both had the serious faults of ugly appearance, fragility, and dirt-collection at the dividing line. at the end of the 19th century the two sections of the lens were fused instead of cemented at the turn of the 20th century, there was a considerable increase in the use of bifocals. plate illustrating opticians' tools and the products of their work, including spectacles and a spyglass between 1781 and 1789, silver spectacles with sliding extension temples were being fabricated in france; however it was not until the 19th century that they gained extensive popularity. john mcallister of philadelphia began fabricating spectacles with sliding temples containing looped ends which were much easier to use with the then-popular wigs. the loops supplement the inadequacy of stability, by allowing the addition of a cord or ribbon which could be tied behind the head, thus holding the eyeglasses firmly in place. in 1826, william beecher moved to massachusetts from connecticut to establish a jewellery-optical manufacturing shop. the first ophthalmic pieces he fabricated were silver spectacles, which were later followed by blue steel. in 1869 the american optical company was incorporated and acquired the holdings of william beecher. in 1849 j. j. bausch immigrated to the united states from germany. he had already served an apprenticeship as an optician in his native land and had found work in berne. his reimbursement for the labor on a complete pair of spectacles was equal to six cents. mr. bausch encountered difficult times in america from 1849 until 1861, at which time war broke out. when the war prevented import of eyeglass frames, demand for his hard rubber frames skyrocketed. continuous expansion followed and the large bausch and lomb company was formed. the monocle, which was first called an "eye-ring", was initially introduced in england in the early 19th century; although it had been developed in germany during the 18th century. a young austrian named johann friedrich voigtländer studied optics in london and took the monocle idea back to germany with him. he started making monocles in vienna about 1814 and the fashion spread and took particularly strong roots in germany and in russia. the first monocle wearers were upper-class gentlemen, which may account for the aura of arrogance the monocle seemed to confer on the wearer. after world war i, the monocle fell into disrepute, its downfall in the allied sphere hastened, no doubt, by its association with the german military. the lorgnette, two lenses in a frame the user held with a lateral handle, was another 18th-century development (by englishman george adams). the lorgnette almost certainly developed from the scissors-glass, which was a double eyeglass on a handle. given that the two branches of the handle came together under the nose and looked as if they were about to cut it off, they were known as binocles-ciseaux or scissors glasses. the english altered the size and form of the scissors-glasses and produced the lorgnette. the frame and handle were often artistically embellished, given that they were used mostly by women and more often as a piece of jewellery than as a visual aid. the lorgnette maintained its popularity with ladies of fashion, who chose not to wear spectacles. the lorgnette maintained its popularity to the end of the 19th century. pince-nez are believed to have appeared in the 1840s, but in the latter part of the century there was a great upsurge in the popularity of the pince-nez for both men and women. gentlemen wore any style which suited them—heavy or delicate, round, or oval, straight, or drooping—usually on a ribbon, cord, or chain about the neck or attached to the lapel. ladies more often than not wore the oval rimless style on a fine gold chain which could be reeled automatically into a button-size eyeglass holder pinned to the dress. whatever the disadvantage of the pince-nez, it was convenient. in the 19th century, the responsibility of choosing the correct lens lay, as it always had, with the customer. even when the optician was asked to choose, it was often on a rather casual basis. spectacles were still available from travelling salesmen. spectacles with large round lenses and tortoise shell frames became the fashion around 1914. the enormous round spectacles and the pince-nez continued to be worn in the twenties. in the thirties there was increased emphasis on style in glasses with a variety of spectacles available. meta rosenthal wrote in 1938 that the pince-nez was still being worn by dowagers, headwaiters, old men, and a few others. the monocle was worn by only a minority in the united states. sunglasses, however, became very popular in the late '30s. equipment opticians use a variety of equipment to fit, adjust and dispense eyewear, contact lenses, and low-vision aids. manual lensmeter technically identified by the generic term manual lensmeter, opticians may often refer to this piece of equipment as a lensometer, focimeter, or vertometer. the modern lensmeter was invented in 1922 by edgar derry tillyer of american optical to determine "whether lenses have the refraction and power prescribed." proper use of