"One optician wanted me to test some lenses. I wore them during the downhill of the Olympic Games…they were phenomenal! Then, he proposed me a deal…I could not resist" Jean Vuarnet


Vuarnet has a story, and it’s unique.It began rue Boissy d’Anglas in Paris in 1957 where Roger Pouilloux had his workshops. This avant-garde optician, passionate by ski, will revolutionize the sunglasses world by inventing an exceptional glass, able to both protect him on slopes and provide a clear vision of the relief in overcast weather.
In 1959, Roger Pouilloux offered to the French ski champion Jean Vuarnet the 02 sunglass model as a token of his admiration. These sunglasses, equipped with the luminous Skilynx mineral glass lenses, enabled Jean Vuarnet to further improve his performance; one year later, he took home the gold metaled in downhill ski racing.In 1974 Vuarnet’s first legendary Glacier model is released in a version designed for mountaineering. Jean Afanassieff, the talented French mountaineer was one of the fists to adopt this model. He was lead climber of the French team that conquered Everest on October 16, 1978.

In 2017 The French State labeled VUARNET and its Manufacture as Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant,
a unique mark of recognition rewarding French firms for the excellence of their traditional and industrial know-how.