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“We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” These words from John F. Kennedy in September 1962 still send shivers down my spine. As a 9 year old, they were very exciting, but really didn’t mean that much. However, on July 20, 1969, JFK’s dream became real: man set foot on the moon for the first time.

I still clearly remember staying up, hearing that famous phrase “The Eagle has landed” and then watching those images of Neil Armstrong descending the ladder to step onto the moon, with his famous speech of “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

What I didn’t know then is that the camera Ienses used to send those iconic images were specially designed for space by ZEISS. Whilst I have known that ZEISS spectacle lenses are amongst the best in the world, I was not aware of the tremendous heritage that they have.
The Carl Zeiss Foundation was founded in 1889 by the physicist and mathematician Ernst Abbe and is the oldest private science funding institution in Germany. The Foundation actively supports people engaged in visionary and outstanding academic work in the fields of natural science and engineering. Both basic research and applied science are equally important to it, which allows them to create an open environment for scientific breakthroughs and product development.

I have been working with Zeiss spectacle lenses for many years now because of their quality and have been amazed at how they have continually progressed over the years. It can be quite hard to keep up with developments at times!

Zeiss maintains a commitment to Ieading the way in visual optics. Because of their work with optics in space, they now have a clear understanding of the dangers of the sun’s powerful ultraviolet (UV) rays. This has led to one of the most significant developments in their lenses: all their lenses now have full UV protection. This is particularly important because of the apparent link between UV and macula degeneration, one of the biggest causes of sight loss in the world.
So the work that was started back in 1889 continues today, and I am delighted to be able to pass on the fruits of their continuing research to my patients in my practice.