PRESS PACK
Essilor® introduces Crizal® Natural Look™,Crizal®’s best anti-reflective coating*2, designed to deliver exceptional transparency with reflections that remain barely noticeable.
Today, even premium lens coatings have visible color reflections, which is a common source of dissatisfaction among wearers, particularly during social interaction and self-expression3.
Breakthrough in Aesthetic Anti-Reflective Performance
Crizal® Natural Look™ sets a new aesthetic benchmark using Advanced Aesthetics Technology™ to deliver a subtle anti-reflective effect. The coating maintains its color neutrality and minimal reflection intensity across multiple viewing angles, resulting in lenses that appear clearer indoors and outdoors.*4
“In a world where we connect and capture moments constantly, the way lenses appear on the wearer plays a vital role in how people see and feel,” said Ernesto Diaz, Chief Marketing Officer, North America Professional Solutions at EssilorLuxottica. “Lens reflections remain one of the most visible and frustrating distractions for eyeglass wearers, making the glare reduction of anti-reflective coatings more important than ever.”
“This breakthrough innovation moves anti‑reflective technology forward in a way that feels genuinely new – not simply incremental,” Diaz continues. “By making reflections significantly less visible, Essilor sets a new benchmark for clarity and lens transparency while still delivering the durability, cleanability, scratch resistance and UV protection that wearers expect from a premium Crizal coating – helping ensure that this everyday fashion accessory stays as polished and protected as it is functional.”
How Advanced Aesthetics Technology™ Works
For more than two years, Essilor’s research and development team has pushed the boundaries to better understand residual reflection color of anti-reflective coatings. Its work led to the development of Advanced Aesthetics Technology™ a patented innovation crafted to achieve more natural visual appearance in an anti-reflective coating.
This patented technology combines three essential criteria for transparency including a low light intensity, low color intensity and a high angular color stability, which ensures barely visible residual color in all situations.
Hélène Maury, Light Management Technical Leader at EssilorLuxottica, adds: “With this breakthrough, we’ve achieved what once seemed impossible: a coating so advanced that reflections virtually disappear. By mastering the balance of light and color, we deliver lenses that are not only technically superior but also aesthetically almost invisible. The result is effortless eye contact and authentic connection – empowering wearers to be seen exactly as they are.”
Expert Validation
A panel of optical experts examined the coating’s appearance, including clear eye visibility, low mirror effects, minimal skin-tone change and a consistent color-neutral look across multiple angles.*4
Experts noted a more natural color rendering and reported a visibly more natural color perception*5, including reduced yellow color cast and less perceived color shift. They also noted significantly fewer light-related visual distractions*6 compared to other selected Crizal lenses.
Beyond its refined aesthetics, Crizal® Natural Look™ offers sustained durability with equivalent advanced scratch resistance to Crizal® Sapphire™ HR and Crizal® Rock™ *7 and 2x higher scratch resistance than Crizal® entry level coatings. *8 The coating preserves the highest levels of durability, resistance and easy-clean performance expected from premium Crizal lenses – offering protection from scratches, smudges, dust, water, and UV. *†9
EXPERT Q&A
Hélène Maury, Light Management Technical Leader at EssilorLuxottica, answers questions on the new coating and how it can benefit wearers.
Why are lens reflections such an aesthetic problem for glasses wearers?
“Lens reflections obscure the wearer’s eyes and draw attention to bright surface streaks instead of their facial features. They’re especially visible in photos or strong light, where unwanted color tints can be distracting.
“By recommending Crizal® Natural LookTM you invite your wearers to experience a new level of visual elegance and benefit from the very best aesthetics for lens.”
What’s the difference between Crizal® Natural LookTM and Crizal® SapphireTM HR?
“Crizal® Natural LookTM and Crizal® SapphireTM HR deliver the same advanced performance in terms of durability and cleanability – the distinction lies purely in aesthetics.
“The aesthetic performance of AR coatings has traditionally been evaluated through the visual reflection level – a measure of how much light is reflected from the lens surface. While technology has made it possible to control the intensity of reflected light, a true breakthrough lies beyond that. We can now manage not only reflections, but also the residual color of the reflection by harnessing new Advanced Aesthetics TechnologyTM.”
How does Advanced Aesthetics TechnologyTM work?
“This breakthrough innovation has redefined reflection control by identifying the key drivers of perceived transparency – low light intensity, low color intensity and a high angular color stability – and then linking these to how people perceived the look of lenses in terms of mirror effect, eye visibility, color saturation, and skin tone modification.
“These key drivers were then incorporated into AI based software to produce the best optimized anti-reflective coating with the launch of Crizal® Natural LookTM.”
Additional details can be accessed below:
HERE
For further press information, please contact: jacqi.richarsdson@essilorusa.com.
Note to editors
About Essilor®:
Essilor®, part of EssilorLuxottica’s portfolio, is a leader in eyeglass lenses worldwide (1) and the number one lens brand recommended by eye care professionals (ECP)(2). It offers a complete range of solutions dedicated to each individual’s vision and lifestyle needs throughout their life. Every Essilor® lens is a combination of multiple complementary technologies thanks to its suite of leading premium vision care solutions, including innovative brands such as Stellest®, Eyezen® and Varilux® and Crizal®. These groundbreaking technologies correct vision, protect eyes from UV rays and enhance visual clarity.
1 Source: Euromonitor, Eyewear 2023 edition; Essilor International company; worldwide retail value sales at RSP.
2 Quantitative research conducted among a representative sample of 958 independent ECPs by CSA in February 2019 – France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, Brazil, China, India.
REFERENCES
* EssilorLuxottica (2025). Internal data on file.
1 – Based on EUROSYN expert-panel evaluation (n=15) comparing Crizal® Sapphire™ HR, Crizal® Rock™ and Crizal® EasyPro on 1.6-index clear lenses. According to internal measurements, expert-panel evaluation results are valid on 1.59-index clear polycarbonate prescription lenses. Expert panel evaluation highlighted Crizal® Natural Look™’s performance for eye visibility, mirror effect, color consistency, and skin-tone shift.
2 – Based on EUROSYN expert-panel evaluation (n=15) comparing Crizal® Sapphire™ HR, Crizal® Rock™ and Crizal® EasyPro on 1.6-index clear lenses. According to internal measurements, expert-panel evaluation results are valid on 1.59-index clear polycarbonate lenses. Expert panel evaluation highlighted Crizal® Natural Look™’s performance for eye visibility, mirror effect, color consistency, and skin-tone shift.
3 – Quantitative study (N=2000 eyeglasses wearers) – CN/FR – Q2 2025 – “When wearing your current eyeglasses, how bothered are you with the following?” – #1 Eyeglasses that slide down my nose – #2 Going out with both eyeglasses and corrective sunglasses when it’s sunny – #3 Frames that hurt my ears or my nose – #4 Lenses with reflections.
4 – Based on EUROSYN expert-panel evaluation (n=15) comparing Crizal® Sapphire™ HR, Crizal® Rock™ and Crizal® EasyPro on 1.6-index clear lenses. Outdoor lighting conditions are simulated using the D65 illuminant (standard daylight illumant by the CIE). According to internal measurements, expert-panel evaluation results are valid on 1.59-index clear polycarbonate lenses. Expert panel evaluation highlighted Crizal® Natural Look™’s performance for eye visibility, mirror effect, color consistency, and skin-tone shift.
5 – EUROSYN expert-panel evaluation (n=15) conducted on 1.6-index clear lenses compared with Crizal® Sapphire™ HR and Crizal® Rock™ anti-reflective coatings. According to internal measurements, expert-panel evaluation results are valid on 1.59-index clear polycarbonate lenses. Assessment parameters: color neutrality, including perceived color modification and yellowness.
6 – Based on EUROSYN expert-panel evaluation (n=15) conducted on 1.6-index clear lenses comparing Crizal® Sapphire™ HR Crizal® Rock™ and Crizal® EasyPro . According to internal measurements, expert-panel evaluation results are valid on 1.59-index clear polycarbonate lenses. Assessment parameter: ghost image level. A ghost image is a faint reflection inside a lens that creates a secondary, unwanted image of a light source.
7 – Based on internal testing across all refractive indexes. Results are specific to the test methods and conditions.
8 – Based on internal testing across all refractive indexes. Results are specific to the test methods and conditions. Crizal®’s entry level coatings include Crizal® Easy and Crizal® EasyPro.
9 – Based on internal testing across all refractive indexes. Results are specific to the test methods and conditions.
†All substrates, except 1.50 index, block 100% UV coming from the front side of the lens through substrate absorption, and Natural Look™ is specially optimized on the back surface to maintain low UV reflection, providing enhanced all-around protection.
