PARIS—The 2012 Silmo Optical Fair kicked off on Thursday, Oct. 4 at the Paris Nord Villepinte exposition hall with nearly 900 exhibitors (68 percent of whom from abroad) showcasing 1,300 brands over the course of the four-day show which ran through Oct. 7.

Opening night also saw the announcement of the 2012 Silmo D’Or Award winners presided over by designer Stella Cadente, this year’s grand jury president. The awards presentation and party was held at the Cité du Cinéma, a film studio created by director/producer Luc Besson, in Joinville-le-Pont, right outside Paris.

This year’s winners included:

• Essilor for the Varilux S Design in the Vision category
• Hoya for VisuReal in the Material/Equipment category
• ETEX for DaVinci in the Low Vision category
• Seaport for the Milky style from the Little PAUL & JOE collection in the Children category
• Undostrial for the Lucas de Staël frame in the Optic Frame category
• Jeremy Tarian for the Saintonge frame in the Sunglass category
• Silhouette for the Adidas Tour Pro in the Sport Equipment category
• Di Esse with FN 719 frame in the Frame Technological Innovation category.

An honorary prize was also awarded to Pascal Parsat, the artistic director and founding member of the Centre Ressources Théâtre Handicap. Parsat has been in charge of designing the Low Vision Forum since 2006 and has helped shed insightful and relevant light on sight impairment.

Dates for the 2013 Silmo exhibition have been confirmed from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29, 2013 at the Paris Nord Villepinte exposition hall.