| Photo Information |
Copyright: Arnaud PETIT (Nono-)
![Silver Note Writer [C: 5 W: 0 N: 10]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/n-n-s.gif) (184) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2009-06-05 |
| Categories: Daily Life |
| Camera: Canon 30D, canon 18-55 f/ 3.5-5.6 |
| Exposure: f/5.6, 1/60 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2009-06-29 12:25 |
| Viewed: 133 |
| Points: 2 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Two centuries of industrial history in Morez :
Although spectacles were not invented in Morez, this area of the Haut Jura was the first to industrialize eyewear production during the 19th century.
It all started in 1796 in a hamlet near Morez, called Les Arcets, where a master nail-maker called Pierre Hyacinthe Caseaux made the first frames out of iron wire. Indeed, since the 16th century, metal-work has been a speciality of craftsmen in the high Jura along the banks of the Bienne River. At the start of the 19th century, Pierre Hyacinthe Caseaux employed 13 workers to produce 300 dozen pairs of spectacles per year, which he sold in France and Switzerland.
He paved the way for a new generation of industrialists, who, from the 1830's onwards, enjoyed genuine success with these metal-wire framed spectacles. They fine-tuned production to the point where they were able to produce very light frames, nicknamed "wire spectacles" or "hairline spectacles", a speciality of Morez alongside solderless pince-nez.
Little by little, a veritable industry took shape. Within a period of around 20 years, from 1826 to 1848, the output of the workshops in Morez increased from 3,000 items to 720,000. This growth continued at great pace reaching 11 million models in 1882, providing a living for the entire region thanks to the dozens of firms. In 1900, thanks to its reputation for quality and creativity, Morez became the capital of the eyewear industry in France.
Since the Second World War, activity has moved toward fashion, experiencing a new upsurge, conquering new markets and producing more innovations. The future is bright, thanks to the training courses on offer for future eyewear manufacturers, opticians and technicians at the Lycée Victor Bérard high school. These successors of the very first optics class founded in 1904 now total 700 in number.
As a result, the firms in Morez, graced with the assets of know-how dating back centuries and the technologies of tomorrow, are busy designing the frames of the 3rd millennium. |
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