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AO

AO

American Optical is the company who brought the first sunglasses to the moon as standard issue to the crew of Apollo 11, including commander Neil Armstrong.

Started in 1826 by one William Beecher, a Connecticut farm boy with an apprenticeship as jeweller under his belt who decided that the time had come to go one up on the until then imported glasses of the time and produce something American Made.

By 1900 the company had set up offices in far off London, to support the ever growing export business to Europe, while back in Southbridge the workforce had grown to over 2.000 men and women.

During WWI 2.5 million AO made "Liberty" and "Victory" glasses entered the service.

WWII saw the manufacture and use of millions of goggles, frames and lenses, among bombsights, precision optics and sunglasses for the Armed Forces.

This military background helped to create Flight goggle 58, now better known as The Original Pilot Sunglass. It now resides in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., after Neil Armstrong brought it back to Earth after his Apollo 11 mission.

In another exciting mission AO glasses appeared in the epic 1960s movie "Easy Rider" about the search for a lost America.

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Products by AO in our web shop:

AO Original Pilot Sunglasses
AO Original Pilot Sunglasses
What do the Moon Landing and Easy Rider have in common? Cool dudes with stylish helmets travelling on hot vehicles? Well, yes, but we mean the sunglasses: in both cases, American Optical sunglasses played a significant role, which you can easily put on and take off without having to take off your astronaut or motorbike helmet because of the slip-in temples used. W&W is happy to announce that we offer models of this legendary U.S. brand which right to the present time is still being manufactured in the AO complex in Southbridge, Massachusetts. It was in 1958 that the Flight Goggle 58, now known as the Original Pilot Sunglass was engineeered and produced for the US military to provide pilots with maximum protection, flawless optical performance and high comfort. This model proved so successful that it was later honored to be the first ever sunglass to land on the moon, worn by Commander Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11 in 1969. It now resides on permanent display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The classic and sturdy structure and high quality finishing of the steel alloy frame, coupled with distortion free, toughened and polished glass or polycarbonate lenses have gained the Original Pilot followers around the globe.
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85-077
85-077
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: mineral glass; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 52 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 101 g
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85-078
85-078
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 52 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 92 g
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85-108
85-108
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: mineral glass; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 55 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 104 g
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85-109
85-109
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 55 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 94 g
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85-115
85-115
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: mineral glass; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 57 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 107 g
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85-116
85-116
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color grey; lens width: 57 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 95 g
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85-079
85-079
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: mineral glass; lens color/type: true color green; lens width: 52 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 104 g
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85-107
85-107
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color green; lens width: 52 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 94 g
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85-113
85-113
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color green; lens width: 55 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 95 g
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85-118
85-118
Sunglasses »Original Pilot« by AO; metal, gold-plated; lens material: polycarbonate; lens color/type: true color green; lens width: 57 mm; with protection case; USA; gross weight: 94 g
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