More people are spending their disposable income on designer sunglasses. The latest global eyewear industry forecast suggests continuous growth for the segment in the $102 billion industry, with demand largely driven by the sunglasses’s “fashion quotient.”
But long before it was considered a fashion accessory, sunglasses were used to mask to cover the most telling aspect of our face. Judges in 12th-century China wore flat panes made of quartz (no relation to us) to conceal their eyes when interrogating witnesses in court. By covering the most expressive part of the face, jurors maintained a veneer of impartiality. The ancient sunglasses didn’t offer sun protection and were only meant to be worn indoors. A vestige of this practice can be seen in the allegorical depiction of justice as a blindfolded woman.
- Quartzy
