Pince-nez - Varieties of Pince-nez

Varieties of Pince-nez

• Hard bridge – Also known as the fingerpiece, these have a solid bridge piece which is molded to fit the curvature of the bridge of the nose. They are anchored onto the bridge of the nose via two small spring-loaded clips terminating in special nose-pads made from bone or tortoise shell on metal called plaquettes, which are tweezered apart for placement on the face through applying pressure to two small lever-like finger-pieces located on the front of the bridge. Plaquettes could be either hinged and flexible, like modern spectacle nose-pads, permitting a better fit, or static as in the older examples of this type. This variety was manufactured as either a frame or as a two-piece mount for rimless. They were popular from the 1890s through to the 1950s, and were probably the most commonly seen variety during that time. Their popularity stemmed from the fact that they could be set and removed at will using only two fingers of one hand to operate the finger-pieces, which made them practical compared to other varieties which often required two hands to place the spectacles on the nose. Additionally they could sit comfortably on most nose bridges without having to be set at an angle to compensate for bone structure. However, because of the inflexibility of the bridge piece they had to be manufactured in a range of sizes for different width nose-bridges.
• C-bridge – These, as their name would suggest, possess a C-shaped bridge, which was composed of a curved, flexible piece of metal which would provide the tension needed to stay on the nose. This variety is the earliest style of true pince-nez. They existed from the 1820s through to the 1940s, and were available in a tremendous variety of styles – ranging from the early nose-padless type of the 19th century to the gutta-percha variety of the American Civil War era, and then on to the plaquette variety of the 20th century. Like the Hard bridge variety, this type was available either as a frame or as a two-piece mount for frameless glasses. Some of the earlier frames had cork nose-pads, as did some of the cheaper later ones, instead of plaquettes. The frames or bridge pieces could be gold or silver plated or made from stainless steel. The bridges were subject to constant wear and tear as they required repeated flexing when being set and removed from the face, so would frequently break or lose their tension. The advantage of this variety was that one size could fit a variety of nose bridges; however, often they had to be worn at an angle, especially if the wearer had a low forehead.
• Spring bridge – Also known as Astig, this variety consists of a sliding bar connecting the lenses which can be separated through a gentle pull. The bar is telescopic, consisting of two sliders within a tube-like spring, which provides the tension. The nose pads are usually cork and are attached directly to the frames. They can either be hinged or static. This variety was popular from the 1890s to the 1930s, after which they were seldom seen. They were created and marketed as 'sporting pince-nez', which were purportedly more difficult to jar from the face than the other varieties as well as being more comfortable to wear for longer periods. A major advantage was that one size could often fit a wide variety of nose shapes and sizes. This style was usually available only as a frame, with rimless examples being very difficult to find.