Sunglasses

First known to be used by the Chinese in the 13th century to protect eyes from the sun, sunglasses have long been associated with an air of coolness. Now a staple of modern style, sunglasses are often in demand at auction.

In the early 1930s, the U.S. Army Air Corps commissioned Bausch & Lomb to create an antiglare lens for pilots. The result was a lens that filtered out 95 percent of the sun's ultraviolet rays. By the late 1930s, ads for Bausch & Lomb’s new sunglasses touted “real scientific glare protection” for golfers and fishermen, and during World War II, Ray-Ban aviators became standard issue for pilots and the preferred eyewear of American military men.

With an aviation appeal, designer sunglasses have had an aura of adventure and jet-set mystique. Sunglasses at auction are popular among bidders ranging from everyday people seeking practical sun protection to Hollywood types attempting to dim the glare of the spotlight.

Quick Facts

• Many historians attribute the discovery of sunglasses to Alessandro della Spina, a Dominican monk. He created reading glasses at the end of the 13th century in northern Italy
• A pair vintage sunglasses in the style of crossed tennis racquets sold in a lot with two other pairs of shades for £360 at a 2007 London Christie's auction. The sunglasses were made by Oliver Goldsmith, the designer who created the white frames worn by Audrey Hepburn in "How to Steal a Million”
• In 2013 at Julien's, a pair of German made, gold toned Neostyle shades owned by Elvis Presley sold for a remarkable $28,125, easily topping their $8,000 to $10,000 estimate. The sunglasses were accidentally left behind at a 1973 recording session