The Vuarnet sunglasses brand was developed in association with the invention of the revolutionary Vuarnet Skilynx lens in 1957 by French opticians Roger Pouilloux and Joseph Hatchiguian. The sunglasses were originally marketed under the name Skilynx Acier and were provided to the French ski team. After alpine ski racer Jean Vuarnet of France won the gold medal in the Downhill at the 1960 Winter Olympics, an agreement was reached to market the sunglasses using his last name as the brand name. Vuarnet later became an official corporate sponsor of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Vuarnet lenses incorporated a "blue blocker" coating which offered superior protection from the sun in leisure-oriented sports and adventure activities to minimize glare. Glare reduction is particularly important to ski eyewear and goggles, for harmful UV rays reflect off the snow to challenge vision, and yet traditional polarized sunglass lenses were poorly suited to depth perception and being able to see moguls on the ski slopes.

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While Vuarnet eyewear is still made today, it falls well short of the quality and design of early Vuarnet PX Pouilloux sunglasses from the 1970s - 1990s including the famous Vuarnet Skilynx, Nautilux, Unilynx, Lynx, and more. Vuarnet Skilynx lenses are double gradient mirror lenses, changing from silver to black but always highly reflective mirrored lenses which reflect rather than absorb glare. Early Vuarnet frames were all made in France and will have PX and Pouilloux marked somewhere on the frame. Most authentic Vuarnet Skilynx lenses will have a stylized V on a Ski laser etched into the glass lenses near the top center. High performance and high style, vintage Vuarnet sunglasses are hard to beat and are perfect unisex sunglasses for both men and women.

Vintage Vuarnet Laser Etched "V on a Ski" Trademark:

Vuarnet is most synonomous with optical innovation when it comes to the development and evolution of Vuarnet Skilynx lenses. Vuarnet Skilynx lenses are made from a special base, ground and polished on both sides to eliminate distortion. Vuarnet Skilynx sunglasses provide 100% protection against harmful ultraviolet radiation and enhance depth of field perception. They are tempered to provide excellent scratch and impact resistance and vacuum treated with multi-layered coatings. The lenses have silver double gradient filters on the fronts to absorb glare and have anti-reflective coatings on the backs to eliminate irritating bounce back light. Only authentic Vuarnet Pouilloux sunglasses have Skilynx lenses, and be forewarned that Vuarnet Skilynx are actively counterfeited just like most every major brand of vintage designer sunglasses.

All vintage Vuarnet glass lenses are made from the finest glass ground and polished on both surfaces to eliminate distortion and thermally treated for impact resistance and scratch resistance. All provide 100% protection against harmful ultraviolet rays and are suitable for nylon and metal frames. The graph below shows the different levels of protection provided by Vuarnet lenses, the most comprehensive range of sunglass lenses in the world, and allows comparison of their performance characteristics.

Vintage Designer Sunglasses has gathered technical data on vintage Vuarnet sunglass lenses and their respective performance characteristics to aid you in your selection of the best vintage Vuarnet sunglasses for your needs and lifestyle.

You can see our entire selection of vintage Vuarnet sunglasses with complete descriptions or with thumbnail pictures all on a single page in our photo gallery.