Musée de la lunette, Eyewear museum in Hauts-de-Bienne, France.
Musée de la lunette is a museum in Hauts-de-Bienne dedicated to eyewear and optical instruments. The collection holds around 2500 rare pieces from different periods, forming one of the world's most substantial collections of its kind.
Morez became France's eyewear capital after Pierre-Hyacinthe Caseaux, a master nail-maker, used iron wire to make spectacles in 1796. His godson Pierre-Hyacinthe Lamy opened the first building devoted entirely to metal frames in 1820. By the late 19th century, 39 workshops employed thousands. The museum opened in 2003.
The Pierre Marly-Essilor collection shows 450 of the 2,500 pairs it holds, chosen for their owners, designers, shapes or materials. Among the wearers are Marie de Médicis, Victoire de France and Sarah Bernhardt; designers include André Courrèges and Philippe Starck. Models from Morez workshops close the display.
The museum is part of Viséum, a complex on the central square of Morez designed by architects-museographers G. Reichardt and G. Ferreux of Lons-le-Saunier, alongside Les Lunetiers du Jura. Temporary exhibitions occupy a ground-floor room and are free to enter. The building carries the Tourisme et Handicap label, so ask at reception about adapted access.
The Pierre Marly-Essilor collection bears the name of Pierre Marly, whose 2,500 objects form the museum's core; 450 modern and antique pairs are displayed, chosen for their owners, designers, shapes or materials. Among the owners are Marie de Médicis, Victoire de France and Sarah Bernhardt, and among the designers André Courrèges and Philippe Starck.
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