Old “la Lunette” factory

The Tournier brothers, manufacturers of glasses and nose clips, and traders in Morez, turned the site of the former 18th-century mill into an eyewear and wood turning factory in 1881. The Tournier brothers would later invest in the production of electricity, building a plant downstream of the factory. The sale of electricity produced on-site was both a financial guarantee for investors (the electricity was resold to local municipalities and workshops) and a sign of economic success. Their monopoly over this power source afforded them a prestigious social position.
The company “les Fils d’Emile Tournier”, which was the first to manufacture glasses in moulded plastic, closed its doors in 1930.