Joel Lesca started in the 1950's by collecting French frames and building up one of the most important collections of antique glasses in France. He followed by creating his first collection in 1964 in a small workshop in the Secrétan district of the 19th arrondissement in Paris, using his relationships with artisans in the Jura region to have all his frames hand-made there.
Fast forward to now, Mathieu and Bertrand Lesca continue to run the family business, which still takes inspiration from their grandfather's vintage collection. The frames, still made in the Jura workshops, are quite typical and recognizable for their robustness and thick raw style.
Many of the styles in the current line-up are faithful reproductions of vintage Lesca and other mid-century glasses. For example, the "Corbs" model is based on glasses designed by the architect Le Corbusier and produced by the Paris house Bonnet in tortoiseshell at the time. They have been re-edited by Lesca in acetate since 1979.