The birth of the brand
Corine Mosa-Ducloux and Charles Mosa were behind France’s first optical stores dedicated entirely to vintage eyewear. Over the years, they have witnessed the inexhaustible success of early 20th-century eyewear.
Unfortunately, old stocks from that long-ago period have dried up or been poorly preserved. These timelessly elegant glasses were equipped with technologies that were both simple and avant-garde.
To prevent them from fading into oblivion, the optician couple decided to recreate the magic : a collection devoted to eyewear from 1900 to 1940, faithfully reproducing all the codes of the period.
When you wear Ducloux, everyone gives you kisses!
A name steeped in history
For history buffs, it’s worth noting that until the 19th century, eyeglasses were the preserve of a wealthy, literate elite. Each bezel was produced individually by highly skilled goldsmiths, often using noble but excessively expensive materials.
A craftsman from the Haut-Jura region, Pierre Hyacinthe Caseaux, a master nailmaker by trade, after breaking his own glasses, set about repairing them and reproducing new ones. Taking advantage of his pin nails for watchmaking and his expertise, he had the idea of designing the first frames industrially. Success came quickly, and the entire region around Morez was converted to eyewear production. Haut Jura dominated the world market in the 19th and well into the 20th century. In the 1980s, the town of Morez rightfully acquired a museum retracing the history of the eyewear industry, and the project’s designers aptly summed up this history with a slogan : ” From a nail was born the telescope “.
In their search for a name for this new project, which also represented a return to their roots in know-how and design, Corine and Charles found it obvious to take Corine’s maiden name and thus “Ducloux naquit des lunettes ” : DUCLOUX eyewear.
The shapes
As many people know, glasses in 1900 were either round or rounded in shape: oval, pantos, etc. With numerous variations, these shapes have the advantage of fitting perfectly to the face without any lines clashing with our features.
Ducloux eyewear aims to quickly establish itself as the leading specialist in this type of eyewear.
Variations
All variations in size, frame type, bridge, temple, mineral lens color, and even (a particular obsession of the Ducloux couple) eyeglass cases are available in this collection.
The first Ducloux collection, unveiled at Silmo Paris 2022, already has 704 variations to appeal to eyeglass wearers and adapt to all their needs.
The uses
Ducloux has it all, whether you want glasses for optical or solar correction, for reading or sport, to look smart or charming, or simply for all the time!
The materials
The look of Ducloux eyewear scrupulously respects the authentic vintage look. It’s the details that make the difference between a simple evocation and a faithful retelling. Nothing has been overlooked in the collection.
When Ducloux offers a strung branch, it’s made using a machine from that era and a skill that only a handful of craftsmen in the world have mastered to this day.
Details such as the nose pads have been made in the colors and sizes of those that adorned 1930 frames.
Dozens of molds were required to produce the sturdy, deep-drawn aluminum cases of yesteryear, which will complete your satisfaction in using and displaying your Ducloux, and protect them without cluttering your pockets or bags. The cable branch case, for example, takes up half the space of your cell phone and fits everywhere. The Diplomat glasses case rivals your pen in elegance and discretion.
Anachronism
Ducloux les lunettes, with its uncompromising commitment to authentic 1930s aesthetics, embraces standards of comfort and health that were largely unheard of a century ago. The collection is crafted in titanium and treated by mass impregnation, ensuring outstanding resistance to corrosion and exceptional reliability against allergic reactions. This is essential for eyewear worn in direct contact with the skin.
For our traditional cable temples, however, the finely braided core cannot be produced in titanium, as the material does not allow the extremely thin weaving required by this historic construction. In this specific case, we use nickel-free phosphor bronze, selected for its mechanical strength, stability, corrosion resistance, and excellent skin tolerance ,without compromising our standards of comfort, durability, and safety.
For sunglasses, we chose to equip Ducloux with Barberini lenses, which historically offer the most complete range of mineral lenses and have developed certain colors to match the aesthetic rendering of 1900 lenses.
At launch, the range comprises 7 different lens colors. But here too, the authentic vintage look doesn’t compromise with the technical evolutions that contribute to the wearer’s comfort in all circumstances. Ducloux glasses are all equipped with photochromic lenses to offer a wider range of uses, internal anti-reflective coating and an identification logo to assure you of the origin of your lenses, subtly visible by blowing on their surface.