Three generations of optometrists, since 1958

For three generations, our family has been taking care of yours. Here, you are not just a number. We know you, we look after your eyes year after year, and we welcome your loved ones with the same care.

Colour archive photograph: a man in a suit and a woman in a dark outfit on the doorstep of a shop, under the sign "Dr. H.M. Toulch, Optometrist" and the number 4009. — 1961
Harry and Libby Toulch
The founders, Harry and Libby, outside their first location on St. Laurent Blvd., 1961

The Saint-Laurent shop team together at the counter, under wooden letters reading “Examen de la vue / Eye exams”. — Today
Michael Toulch and Jonah Toulch, with their team
At the counter of 3750 Saint-Laurent Boulevard

The three optometrists

Michael Toulch
Optometrist · Second generation
Practising since 1992
Read the biography (Michael Toulch)
Michael Toulch has been practising optometry since 1992. He runs the Saint-Laurent Boulevard shop opened by his father, Harry Toulch, in 1958. Client care is always the main focus. Beyond general eye care, he keeps looking for and developing new products: he designed the world's first interchangeable eyewear system, granted a US patent in 2004, which caught the attention of the international fashion eyewear market. He is a member of the Ordre des optométristes du Québec and of the Quebec and Canadian Associations of Optometrists.
Jonah Toulch
Optometrist · Third generation
Doctor of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 2023 (Dean's Honours)
Read the biography (Jonah Toulch)
Jonah Toulch is a third-generation optometrist. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science at Concordia University, where he built an understanding of the connection between health, fitness and vision. He went on to earn his Doctor of Optometry at the University of Waterloo, graduating with Dean's Honours in 2023. He is a member of the Ordre des optométristes du Québec and of the Quebec and Canadian Associations of Optometrists, and follows advances in the profession closely.
Diana Miceli
Optometrist
Doctor of Optometry with honours, Waterloo, 2011
Read the biography (Diana Miceli)
Diana Miceli graduated with honours from the Waterloo School of Optometry in 2011. Her passion for optometry and patient care led her to Thailand, where she took part in a volunteer eye care mission, providing eye exams and corrective lenses in the most remote areas of the country. She then chose to start practising in Montreal, where she was born and raised. In 2014 she completed post-graduate studies in developmental optometry with the OEPF. She is a member of the Ordre des optométristes du Québec as well as the Quebec and Canadian Associations of Optometrists. Her devotion, empathy and commitment to excellence are some of the many qualities her patients benefit from when consulting with her.

The story of our family practice, from 1958 to today

1958

Harry Toulch

First generation

Harry Toulch was born in the Plateau Mont-Royal at the peak of the Great Depression. He graduated from the École d'optométrie of the Université de Montréal in 1958, the same year the practice opened its doors on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.

Harry was a true visionary optometrist, with a deep love for his craft as well as for the arts. He left a lasting impression on Saint-Laurent Boulevard and served multiple generations of Montrealers, and people from all over the world.

Black and white class composite of the Université de Montréal School of Optometry, 1955-1958: some thirty portraits of graduates in gowns, including Harry Toulch at bottom left. — The 1955-1958 class of the École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal. Harry Toulch is bottom left.

Colour archive photograph: Harry Toulch, smiling, in a suit and black-rimmed glasses, holding a rotary phone receiver to his ear, seated at a desk in front of a frame display and a framed diploma. — Harry Toulch on the phone, in his office.

1992

Michael Toulch

Second generation

In 1992, Michael Toulch joined the practice his father Harry had founded, becoming the second generation of the family to care for patients at Harry Toulch. Working side by side with his father, he carried forward the values that built the practice, including personal attention, expert care and craftsmanship, while bringing new technology into the exam room and the lab.

Black and white newspaper clipping headlined "Making a spectacle of themselves": Harry Toulch, in round glasses, between two young men wearing sunglasses. — "Shop is a family affair": Harry Toulch with his sons Larry and Michael, in The Gazette. Photo: Tedd Church.

Colour archive photograph: two men, one in a suit, the other in a white lab coat, on either side of a lens edging machine in a workshop crowded with tools. — In the 1960s, Harry already had a lab making glasses in 1 hour.

2004

US patent

Harry and Michael designed colour-interchangeable rimless glasses, the subject of a US patent filed in 2004. The idea was simple: instead of buying a new pair to change their look, customers could snap the temples and bridge on and off and swap in a different colour, keeping the same lenses. One pair of glasses could now match an outfit, a mood or an occasion. It was the first eyewear of its kind on the market, and an early sign of the inventive spirit that continues to drive our family's work in rimless design.

Black-and-white technical drawing from the patent: two views of a pair of rimless eyeglasses, with reference numbers pointing to the lenses, the bridge and the temples. — US patent 7,029,115, filed by Michael Toulch in 2004: rimless eyeglasses with interchangeable temples.

2006

Look & Krys 360

Sold across France

Our frame was sold in hundreds of stores across France, under the brand "Look & Krys 360" at Krys and "Multiplo" at GrandOptical, two major French optical chains.

A man in a dark suit stands in a Krys optical store in front of a Look & Krys display showing rimless glasses with temples in many colours fanned out around them. — The Look & Krys display in a Krys store, in France: "the first pair of glasses that dresses like you".

A hand holding a GrandOptical card titled Multiplo, with colourful interchangeable temples arranged around the text. — The Multiplo card at GrandOptical: "a selection of frames with temples you can change to suit your taste".

Black and white photo of two men at a trade show booth, in front of a display panel reading Chameleon frame, Lunette caméléon. — The frame at a trade show, presented as the Chameleon frame.

2010

Oliver Peoples

A tribute to Harry

Harry Toulch was one of Larry Leight's very first clients, and we have carried Oliver Peoples since 1987. When Harry passed away in 2010, Oliver Peoples created the Toulch frame in his honour and sent us a gift box bearing these words:

“Located at the corner of Boulevard St. Laurent and Duluth in Montreal, Canada, Harry Toulch Vision has been in business for over half a century. When Oliver Peoples began its wholesale operations in 1987, it was proud to list Harry Toulch Vision as one of its very first accounts in North America. A highly respected pioneer in the optical industry, it was the support of visionaries like Harry Toulch that helped create the international brand Oliver Peoples has become in the twenty years since. Oliver Peoples is proud of the continued close relationship as both companies have grown. A personal friend of Harry, Oliver Peoples' creator Larry Leight was saddened when Mr. Toulch passed away in October 2010. In homage to the long partnership between the two, Oliver Peoples created the Toulch frame, which will be included in the Resort/Spring 2012 collection. The Toulch is a mixed-media optical design featuring titanium eyewire with acetate accents and integrates contemporary shape with distinctive detailing.”

A wooden picture frame in a display case, holding the Oliver Peoples tribute text beside a photo of Harry Toulch at his desk, with two Oliver Peoples frames resting on top. — The Oliver Peoples tribute, framed with a photo of Harry, under two Oliver Peoples frames.

Close-up of a brown Oliver Peoples optical frame, the inside of the temple engraved OV1107T and TOULCH. — The Toulch frame by Oliver Peoples, with its name engraved on the temple.

2014

A heritage building

After more than 50 years at 4041 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, on the corner of Duluth, our next chapter began with a big move just down the street to the heritage building at 3750 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. A corner landmark with its mansard roof and distinctive turret, the building has graced the Main for over 100 years. Over two years of careful restoration, we brought it back to life, preserving its historic character while creating a modern space for eye care, and made it the new home of our practice, keeping our family's roots firmly planted on the Main.

Black and white street photo from 1932: the corner building at Saint-Laurent and Pine, with its mansard roof and turret, a horse-drawn carriage and a grocery with a Coca-Cola sign at street level. — The building in 1932.

Colour photo from 2009: the same corner building, worn and boarded up, its turret darkened, with a work truck parked on the boulevard. — The building on November 25, 2009, before the restoration. Photo: Philippe Du Berger, Journal de Montréal.

The restored corner building at Saint-Laurent and Pine on a sunny day: grey slate mansard roof, green trim, turret, and the Harry Toulch Optométristes storefront on the ground floor. — The building today, restored, home of Harry Toulch Optométristes.

2023

Jonah Toulch

Third generation

Jonah Toulch earned his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Waterloo with Dean's Honours and joined his father at the practice, becoming the third generation of Toulch optometrists on Boulevard Saint-Laurent.

Colour photograph: Jonah Toulch in his graduation gown, holding his University of Waterloo diploma, between his mother and his father, Michael Toulch, outdoors on campus. — Jonah Toulch with his parents at his graduation from the University of Waterloo.

2025

Toulch Rimless

SILMO d'Or

Twenty years after Harry and Michael first reimagined rimless glasses together, that same spirit of invention came full circle. Toulch Rimless is our newest creation: patented, beautifully light, and so minimal you'll almost forget you're wearing glasses. Born right here on Saint-Laurent, it won the internationally recognized SILMO d'Or for Technological Innovation at SILMO Paris, one of the largest and most prestigious eyewear trade shows in the world. Today, Toulch Rimless is worn in Canada, the USA, Morocco, France and Italy, and we are continuing to grow and launch worldwide, with every pair carrying a little piece of our family's story.

The Harry Toulch team standing in the clinic under the “Examen de la vue / Eye exams” sign, with the SILMO d'Or trophy. — Back at the clinic with the SILMO d'Or, the whole team together.

Accepting the award.

See our episode of ON THE BLVD with Ryan Sullivan

Frequently asked questions about Harry Toulch

How long has Harry Toulch been around?

Since 1958. Harry Toulch opened the shop on Saint-Laurent Boulevard the year he graduated from the École d'optométrie of the Université de Montréal. It has been family-run ever since, across three generations, and is today at 3750 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Montreal.

Who are the optometrists at Harry Toulch?

Three optometrists practise there: Michael Toulch (practising since 1992), Diana Miceli (Doctor of Optometry with honours, Waterloo, 2011) and Jonah Toulch (Doctor of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 2023). All three are members of the Ordre des optométristes du Québec and of both the Canadian and Quebec Associations of Optometrists.

What is Toulch Rimless?

It is the rimless eyewear designed by the practice, under its own brand. Its Phi collection received the 2025 SILMO d'Or for technological innovation. A single precision screw, seated in a slot shaped like the Greek letter ɸ, replaces the usual bushings and washers: the frame stops working loose and can be tightened again in seconds.

Come and see us

A new pair of frames, an eye exam or an eye emergency: come and see us, we'll take care of you.

Book an appointment (514) 849-1433

Colour archive photograph: a smiling man in a suit and black-rimmed glasses holding a rotary phone receiver to his ear, seated at a desk in front of a frame display and a framed diploma.