Macron’s Glasses Spark 70% Surge in Shares of Italian Eyewear Maker

A pair of sunglasses worn by French President Emmanuel Macron at the World Economic Forum in Davos has triggered a stunning rally in the shares of a little-known Italian eyewear company, underscoring the market power of political visibility, and style.

Macron appeared on the Davos stage wearing blue mirrored aviator-style glasses, prompting an immediate spike in demand for the model and sending shares of Italy’s iVision Tech soaring more than 70% this week. 

The rally lifted the company’s market capitalization to around €19 million, before trading in the stock was temporarily halted on Friday after it hit its daily limit.

The glasses, priced at €659, are models known as “Doublé” or “Laminé,” produced under the French luxury eyewear brand Henry Jullien, which is owned by iVision Tech. According to the company’s chief executive, Stefano Volker, orders flooded in almost as soon as Macron’s appearance concluded.

“After Macron’s Davos speech, our website went down because of the volume of requests,” Volker told Bloomberg TV.

The buzz around the eyewear rivaled attention drawn by Macron’s speech itself, in which he sharply criticized U.S. trade policies. Online, users likened the look to Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” character in Top Gun, while former U.S. President Donald Trump used his own remarks to poke fun at Macron over the glasses.

A spokesperson for the French president confirmed that the sunglasses were from Henry Jullien. Macron reportedly chose to wear them after describing a minor but visually unappealing issue that he had joked about during a recent appearance in France.

Volker said Macron’s relationship with the brand dates back to 2024, when the Élysée Palace contacted the company ahead of a G20 summit. The French president wanted a France-made product to offer as a diplomatic gift and later purchased a pair for himself. “We offered to give him the glasses for free, but he insisted on paying for them,” Volker said.

Founded in 2020, iVision Tech emerged after the Volker family acquired a local factory previously owned by Italy’s Safilo. The company initially pivoted to producing face masks during the pandemic before returning to eyewear manufacturing. It acquired Henry Jullien in September 2023 following its initial public offering a month earlier, and went on an acquisition spree in 2024, buying four companies in a single year.

Looking ahead, iVision Tech may explore acquisitions in China as part of a strategy to expand into smart glasses, Volker said, an ambition now buoyed by an unexpected endorsement from one of Europe’s most visible political figures.