A fascinating piece of optical history: Australia's first soft contact lens symposium happened in 1978, when hydrogel lenses were still new Down Under. Colored soft lenses didn't arrive until the 1980s, and custom hand-painted tints in the late 70s were limited to film or medical reconstructive use. Eye color was genuinely hard to fake back then.
History of colored contact lenses in 1978 Australia assessed
Key facts
- First Australian symposium on soft contact lenses was held in 1978
- Soft hydrogel lenses were still relatively new in Australia in 1978
- Colored contact lenses did not come to Australia until later in the 1980s
- Custom tinted or hand-painted soft lenses in the late 1970s were reserved for theatrical film production or clinical reconstructive cases
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