Founded in 1977 by Al Nagler, an optical engineer from The Bronx who designed simulators used in the Apollo program, the company originally made projection lenses for large projection-screen televisions, but is well known in the astronomy community for its products.

Although the company is no longer the principal distributor, Vixen America still maintains its address at Tele Vue's New York location.

The introduction of the original Nagler 13mm Type 1 in 1982 with its wide field of view and an equally high price soon made their mark.

Using different combinations of lenses of different types of high index optical glasses, the eyepieces produce, respectively, a 50°, 62°, 68°, 72°, 82°, 100°, and 110° apparent field-of-view.

At the North East Astronomy Forum 2010, they revealed the Ethos SX, a 3.7mm focal length eyepiece with an even greater 110° apparent field-of-view.