Scissors-glasses are eyeglasses, normally used to correct distance-vision, mounted on scissoring stems rather than on temple stems as modern eyeglasses are.

The invention of scissors-glasses solved the problem of the single lensed monocle

Monocle

A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...

 or "quizzing glass", thought to be tiresome to the eye, by providing two lenses on a "Y" shaped frame. They usually had a ring in the end of the handle so that they could be worn on a ribbon or gold chain around the neck.

Elegant examples, often gilded and highly ornamented, became common among the more fashionable members of French and German society in the second half of the 18th century. George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, Lafayette and Napoleon

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 used scissors glasses. In French they are called binocles or binocles-ciseaux and the French scissor glasses are more delicate, ornate, and more of a fashion accessory than those made in other parts of Europe.

The lorgnette

Lorgnette

A lorgnette is a pair of spectacles with a handle, used to hold them in place, rather than fitting over the ears. It is derived from the French lorgner, to take a sidelong look at, and Middle French, from lorgne, squinting. They were invented by an Englishman named George Adams. The lorgnette was...

probably developed from scissors-glasses. Since the two branches of the handle came together under the nose, they looked as if they were about to cut it off, and because seeing the mouth was becoming ever more fashionable in society, the English changed the size and form of the scissors-glasses and produced the lorgnette.