George Optical Marks 66 Years With a Look Back at Its Binondo Roots

For 66 years, George Optical has quietly been part of everyday milestones, from a first pair of glasses to the frames people wear through workdays, celebrations, and everything in between. What began as a small clinic in Binondo has since grown into a Filipino eye-care institution, but its story remains rooted in something surprisingly simple: care.

There are some things we hardly think about until we need them. A clearer road sign. Being able to read the menu without squinting. Recognizing a familiar face from across the room.

Good vision slips naturally into everyday life, which is perhaps why an optical brand reaching its 66th year feels less like a simple business milestone and more like a story about generations.

George Optical began in 1960, when Dr. George Co Sr. and his wife, Belen Co, opened their first optometric clinic on Ongpin Street in Binondo. It was a modest beginning for what would eventually become a much larger eye-care institution.

And the story before the storefront is perhaps even more interesting.

Born Co Kian Kong in Fujian, China, Dr. Co Sr. came to the Philippines at seven years old. He worked while studying, eventually finding his way into his uncle's optical shop after World War II. Among the many jobs he took on there was learning how to grind glass lenses and fit them into spectacle frames.

He later pursued Optometry, graduated with honors, and placed among the Top 10 in the Philippine Optometry Board Examinations. His philosophy was straightforward:

“To attain something of greater value, one must give up something of lesser value.”

That mindset carried into the beginnings of George Optical. According to the brand's history, the couple started without substantial financial resources, even carrying their belongings in a kariton as they built the business. What they did have was the trust Dr. Co Sr. had developed with the people around him, which helped make the clinic possible.

Over the decades, both eyewear and the way people think about eye health changed.

George Optical expanded beyond traditional prescription glasses into contact lenses, primary eye care, specialized services, and new technologies. In 1975, Dr. Co Sr. began producing hard contact lenses, eventually leading to what is now G&B Vision Care Inc.

Today, the second generation of the family continues that work through Dr. Geoffrey Co, George Optical's President and CEO.

Dr. Geoffrey trained at City University in London and Moorfields Eye Hospital, with experience in areas including contact lenses, low vision, glaucoma, and corneal clinics. He later topped the Philippine Optometry Board Examinations in 1996 and has practiced optometry in both the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

But beyond credentials and changing technology, he describes the thread connecting the company's past and present much more simply:

“One thing remains constant—George cares.”

It is an idea that feels especially relevant in an era when eyewear has become part health essential, part personal style. Glasses can be the thing you wear every single day, after all. Choosing a pair can be as much about how clearly you see through them as how much they feel like you.

For its 66th anniversary, George Optical is also giving that milestone a playful nod. Until October 31, 2026, customers who purchase any frame worth ₱6,990 and above can get a second selected designer frame for ₱66 at George Optical branches nationwide.

The deal may be the timely anniversary hook, but the more interesting story is the six decades behind it.

From a small Ongpin clinic to a business that has watched eyewear, technology, and Filipino lifestyles evolve, George Optical's 66-year story is ultimately one of keeping an eye on what changes while knowing what shouldn't.

Because sometimes, staying relevant isn't about completely reinventing yourself. Sometimes, it's simply about seeing what people need next, without losing sight of why you started.