The first eyeglass cases were made of steel and quite a few examples have survived. Two style are usually found, the flip top and the clam shell. The flip top case dates between 1727 and 1760. In the 1750's, clam shell cases were introduced and continued to be made until the late 1790s. All cases of this era are hand made and vary in size because they were custom made for a specific pair of spectacle.