Nigura - One of the founders of the German optical industry
Germany and France were the leading countries in spectacle manufacturing up to the end of the 1880s.
The "Old Town Optical Industrial Institute Nitsche & Günther", founded in the town of Rathenow in Brandenburg in 1866 and until year 2005 operating as NiGuRa Optik GmbH, was one of the leading companies - with more than 2,000 employees at times - that helped drive the development of the German optical industry.
NiGuRa made numerous inventions and patents which still make their presence felt today in frame designs. One example is the so-called "camouflaged hinge" which can still be found in practically every frame in a modified form.
However, Nitsche & Günther were not just specialists in the development and manufacture of frames, they were also one of the world's leading suppliers of optical lenses and workshop equipment for opticians.
The Second World War saw the end of his exemplary company due to confiscation and dismantling without any compensation.
A new start was made from zero at the Düsseldorf branch. A new production facility for frames was founded together with a company from Solingen. The company became completely independent again in 1956.
Nigura - A trail-blazer of modern frame design.
NiGuRa was one of the first frame manufacturers to recognise the need for models developed for a specific target group. Professional designers were brought in to replace the frame makers from production who were responsible for designs well into the 1950s. This step gave rise to an amazing variety of models which today more than ever characterises the range of frames, sunglasses and sports eyewear for (almost) every target group.
Nigura Metzler - A future-oriented structure
NiGuRa Optik GmbH and Metzler International (Deutschland) AG merged their business and sales operations in 2005. At the same time, a European investment company was founded by new partners in the business under the name Nigura Metzler Optics International GmbH.
