upright|thumb|[[Anton Chekhov with pince-nez, 1903]]
Pince-nez (, , or , plural form same as singular; ) is a style of glasses, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French ('to pinch') and ('nose').
Although pince-nez were used in Europe since the late 14th century, modern ones appeared in the 1840s and reached their peak popularity around 1880 to 1900. Because they did not always stay on the nose when placed, and because of the stigma sometimes attached to the constant wearing of eyeglasses, pince-nez were often connected to the wearer's clothing or ear via a suspension chain, cord, or ribbon so that they could be easily removed and not lost.
Varieties
Rivet spectacles
thumb|Bone handle pince-nez
The earliest form of eyewear for which any archaeological record exists comes from the middle of the 15th century. It is a primitive pince-nez whose frames were made from two pieces of either metacarpal bone from the forelimb of a bull or large pieces of antler. The pieces were paddle-shaped, and joined by an iron rivet that provided the tension over the nose and allowed the lenses to be folded together. The purpose of the three holes at the place where the handle connects to the hinge is uncertain, though they may have been used for pinhole vision, a principle that was known from ancient times. Each paddle was split at one end to allow for the insertion of a lens, with the split closed by a piece of copper wire in normal use. The frames were extremely light, but the tension in the rivet would have loosened over time, making them unable to stay on the nose. Paintings depicting such frames date from as early as 1392 CE.
Later frames were made from cattle horn or from wood, but always with a connecting rivet for tension.
Fits-U
thumb|left|Finger-piece hard bridge pince-nez
In 1893 Jules Cottet, a Frenchman, developed and patented a finger-piece eyeglass whose lenses were connected by a rigid bridge, with springs in the nose-rests to clip onto the bridge of the nose. The wearer could squeeze a pair of levers located above or in front of the bridge to open the planquettes, and release them to allow them to close onto the nose. As the lenses did not rotate these devices could correct for astigmatism, and as the distance between the lenses was fixed they could be made to fit the user's inter-pupillary spacing. Cottet registered his patent in France, England, and the United States, but did not pursue production and eventually sold the patent to a London-based eyewear manufacturer, who sold it to an American firm. The design remained unused for years, until it was acquired by American Optical, which successfully marketed it under the brand name "Fits-U", quickly replacing most other pince-nez. Morpheus in the Matrix film trilogy, who wears reflective-lensed pince-nez sunglasses when he appears in the Matrix; Don Knotts' title-character in The Incredible Mr. Limpet, who wears them both as a man and a fish; The Walt Disney cartoon character Scrooge McDuck; Professor Frost in the C. S. Lewis novel That Hideous Strength, who is identified multiple times by his wearing a pair of pince-nez; Koroviev/Fagott, a member of Satan's entourage in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita; Mr. Borgin in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Roger Swindon in Under Wildwood, the second novel in Colin Meloy's "Wildwood" trilogy; the dastardly villain Dr. Eggman/Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog; and Mordecai Heller in Tracy J. Butler's Lackadaisy and the Lackadaisy short film.
thumb|upright|[[Bibendum, the mascot of the tire company Michelin, wearing pince-nez in an 1898 advertisement]]
In the piece Son binocle from his piano suite Les trois valses distinguées du précieux dégoûté (1914), Erik Satie depicts a jaded dandy cleaning his luxurious pince-nez, which is made from solid gold and smoked glass. Satie himself was a lifelong wearer of pince-nez.
Throughout Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon reference is made to the fact that the main character, Rubashov, wears pince-nez and uses them to tap on the pipes in his cell to communicate with fellow prisoners. In Darkness at Noon the pince-nez signifies Rubashov's belonging to the intelligentsia where a fellow prisoners monocle represents their belonging to the aristocracy.
Gomez Addams (The Addams Family) frequently pulled a pair of pince-nez glasses from his inside left jacket pocket including a reference to the spectacles by Doctor Motley in Season 2, Episode 18, "Fester Goes on a Diet."
The prominent Spanish poet Francisco de Quevedo always wore pince-nez, and was depicted wearing them in well-known paintings such as a portrait by Juan van der Hamen. Pince-nez are so characteristic of Quevedo that they came to be named quevedos in Spanish.
See also
- Monocle