I had mentioned my gold glasses had the American Optical logo with the A on top of the C and O.
To the right of that was a box with the right side missing, kind of like a square-ed off letter C.
After some googling, I have solved the mystery. A website called dickwhitney dot net has a PDF document called American Optical 1911 List of Goods.
It includes a full page on the AO markings. I won't paste in the html, but you should be able to find it.
It turns out that my eyeglass frames are 1/10 10 Karat Gold Filled.
Thank you for the update!
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No quality mark? Just a weird symbol by: AnonymousDK
I have a similar style of Ao eyeglasses with that same maker mark (COA), but where I would expect a quality mark next to it on the right, there's just a symbol, a sideways box with the right side missing, like a very squared-off letter "C". Any ideas?
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Your frameless eyeglasses by: Anonymous
The mark you are speaking of is actually a "C" just like you said with the one serif, over an "O" and again, over an "A". This is a manufacturer's mark and represents "American Optical". The mark off to the "right side" represents the gold content.
In your case, if I am reading it correctly, the mark you describe would stand for 1/10 12K Gold Filled. All American Optical eyeglasses with the same C, over an O, over an A are from circa 1889 to 1911. If your eyeglasses were made of solid gold, they would read either 8K A.O.Co.+ ( 8 karat ) or 10K A.O.Co. with a round mark and a horizontal line through the middle (resembling a pill with a cut mark) or A.O.Co.14K (of course 14K Gold ) From circa 1911 to 1927, your American Opticals should read "Wellsworth" with the same marks for gold content mentioned earlier. Circa 1929-1942 have a capitol A partially over a capitol O with the same marks off to the right as I mentioned earlier.
Circa 1943 eye glasses have the same AO mark as mentioned immediately above but is surrounded by a shield. If your eye glasses have nose pads ( no matter who made them ) they cannot be any older than circa 1922, as there were no nose pads on any eyeglasses manufactured before 1922. The curled cable type ends were not invented until 1881 and were actually invented by an employee of American Optical. I hope this helps..... Thomy
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American Optical Company by: Anonymous
I would guess that the A is actually inscribed in O (not a C). This mark would be for the American Optical Company.
