Originally Posted by
Darryl Meister
I believe that Rodenstock introduced their first commercially successful progressive lens, Progressiv R, in 1981, shortly before Carl Zeiss launched their first commercially successful lens, Gradal HS, in 1983. The actual design work on Gradal HS was started several years earlier, with the initial German patent application filed in 1980. Rodenstock filed a patent application for Progressiv R in 1978. So, in terms of getting to market first, I believe that it was Rodenstock.
However, Progressiv R was still a symmetrical lens design, so I'm not sure you could really say that Progressiv R really advanced the state of the art in progressive optics at the time. Gradal HS obviously introduced a major idea that is still used by progressive lens designers today, balancing the optics to either side of the progressive corridor in order to reduce differences in power, prism, and magnification between corresponding points across the right and left lenses (that is, "horizontal symmetry"). Gradal HS also relied on the use of splines.
Of course, someone from Rodenstock may be able to make a more compelling argument for Progressiv R, like Werner Koeppen, who I believe was actually involved in the development of their lens. In any case, my point was really only that the Germans got involved in progressive lens design, once the manufacturing technology had matured to the point where imaging defects could be satisfactorily addressed.
Best regards,
Darryl
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