Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers

The Worshipful Company
of Spectacle Makers
MottoA Blessing To The Aged (no longer used)
LocationApothecaries' Hall
Black Friars Lane, London
Date of formation1629 (1629)
Royal Charter
(Charles I)
Company associationOptical health and eye care
Order of precedence60th
Master of companyMr Mike Harris, BSc (Hons), FCOptom, FBCO
(2024-25)
WebsiteSpectacle Makers' Company


The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, UK. It ranks 60th in order of precedence of the Livery Companies.

The company was founded by a royal charter of Charles I in 1629 AD; it was granted the status of a Livery Company in 1809. The company was empowered to set regulations and standards for optical devices; this was eroded by the Industrial Revolution, after which mechanical advancements made trade restrictions difficult to enforce. It is the oldest existing optical body in the world.