Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers
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The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, UK.
The Company was founded by a Royal Charter of Charles I in 1629; 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. The Company acquired the right, however, to set examinations that opticians had to pass before practising. This power was surrendered to the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) (now titled the College of Optometrists) in 1979; in the 1980s, these examinations were conducted by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.
Now, the Company supports charities, including Vision Aid Overseas, and research in the field of optics and conducts training and professional development including the two-year correspondence course for optical technicians that has national accredication in the British National Qualifications Framework.
The Spectacle Makers' Company ranks sixtieth in the order of precedence for Livery Companies.
