Abstract: For manufacturing a glass article for precision-optical purposes, a preform is provided which is unwrought relating to the desired shape of the glass article to be manufactured and exhibits within the surface areas serving for the formation of optical effective planes a high surface quality. The preform is pressed at a sufficiently high temperature in a mold, the function layers of which, serving for the formation of the optical suitable planes are hard and wear resistant, optionally containing hard nitrides and/or carbides, being mechanically unwrought structureless thin layers coated by cathode sputtering, for example, on a working surface of the basis of the mold. At the beginning of the pressing process, the preform and at least one of the function layers of the mold exhibit a difference in temperature amounting at least to 30 K, but less than a value where inhomogeneities in and/or surface defects on the glass molding may be produced.