Macron's sunglasses at Davos send shares of Italy's iVision skyrocketing

Shares of iVision Tech, a small-cap eyewear maker, jumped 13% at the open of trading in Milan on Friday, January 23, extending a rally that lifted the company’s market capitalization by 38% over the previous two sessions to EUR19.15 million. The move followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos wearing aviator sunglasses produced by the group. iVision Tech CEO Stefano Fulchir said "certainly created a wow effect on the stock."

iVision Tech shares rose nearly 13% to EUR2.36 apiece in the first minutes of trading on Friday on Milan's exchange, reaching their highest level since last May.

The gains extended a rally that began on Wednesday, when the stock climbed 6%. Trading was then automatically suspended for most of the remaining session, according to Reuters.

On Thursday, trading briefly resumed, with iVision shares surging as much as 31% to EUR2.10 before being halted again.

The rally followed Macron’s appearance at the Davos forum on Tuesday wearing aviator sunglasses. The following day, iVision Tech said the French president was wearing the Pacific S 01 model, priced at EUR659, produced by Henry Jullien, a historic French eyewear brand that is part of the iVision group. Henry Jullien was founded in 1921 and was acquired by the Italian company in 2023.

This "certainly created a wow effect on the stock," CEO ‍Fulchir told Reuters. Photographs of Macron wearing the sunglasses appeared on newspaper front pages worldwide and sparked widespread discussion on social media, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some commentators compared the look to Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun, while others dubbed Macron “Le Maverick.”

Macron’s sunglasses took over Davos, the Journal noted. Many observers interpreted the choice as a political signal that Europe needed a leader willing to confront U.S. President Trump. In a speech on Tuesday, Macron called Trump's latest threats to impose tariffs against European countries opposed to his stated goal of taking control of Greenland, including on French wine and champagne, “fundamentally unacceptable,” Reuters reported separately. Macron said France would not give in to “bullies.”

French officials later said the sunglasses were worn to conceal a burst blood vessel in the president’s eye, the Journal wrote.

The surge in interest from buyers seeking what became known as “Macron’s glasses” caused Henry Jullien’s website to crash, according to the newspaper. “We decided to immediately restart the production of this model,” Fulchir was quoted as saying.