Q: Can I put new prescription lenses in my existing frames?
A: Yes! The process is called “reglazing”. Any existing pair of frames — relatively new ones, vintage frames or just your favourites — can be expertly fitted with a fresh set of lenses. (We can also refurbish older frames, replace any hardware and polish the frame material, either metal or acetate, to extend their life and make them look better than new.) Whether full frames, semi-rimless or rimless, the size and shape of your lenses can be perfectly replicated. Beginning with an updated prescription, for instance, our full range of lens options is available to you — from single vision to varifocal, from clear to tinted, from photochromatic lenses that darken in the sun to full sunglasses, all of these changes can be easily and economically achieved. [We recommend and routinely apply anti-reflective coating to scratch resistant lenses.] Each manufacturer will offer their own versions of coatings, tints and treatments, all of which we will be happy to advise you on before you place your order.
Q: How much does reglazing cost?
A: The greatest advantage of reglazing is that you will save money on what can be the largest expenditure when you buy new glasses: the frames. Our base price for the simplest reglazing order — single vision, standard thickness, no tint or specialised treatment besides anti-reflective coating — is £10. For thinner lenses (“high index”) our price slightly increases, as it will for tints, varifocals and photochromatic lenses. Each premium manufacturer (Zeiss, Hoya, Essilor) will have equivalent coatings and design variations, depending upon the specific use you have for a particular pair of glasses. Will they be mainly for driving? Playing sport? Or round the clock everyday wear? All of these variables should be considered, and we’re happy to help talk them through with you.
Q: What are the differences between manufacturers of varifocal lenses?
A: [I’ll need specifics here from you — no idea where to start.]
Q: What are “occupational” lenses?
A: Everyone, especially as we age, becomes familiar with reading glasses. They help our eyes focus on a page of print at about half an arm’s length. These days, most of us spend a great deal of time looking at a computer screen. Computer monitors present our eyes with challenges that are different from a page of a book or magazine. For one thing, there is the issue of “blue light” emitted from screens that can intensify eye strain and affect our sleep. In addition, the constant glare from a laptop or desktop computer that might fill our eyes for eight or ten hours at a stretch, can tire us even more.
Zeiss, for example, addresses these issues by offering a coating as standard on their three types of Office Lenses that lessens the blue light passing through the lens. You may choose a single vision lens that narrowly focuses on your computer screen at a distance of one meter. Or you can choose a lens with a slightly wider area of focus, at two meters. This may be useful if you use multiple monitors. Or you can choose their “Room” lens which gives you about four meters of focus in a wider perimeter, good for shifting your vision between your desk and the middle distance.
In addition, computer glasses may benefit from a slight yellow tint to help diminish eye strain. Anti-reflective coating will help you manage your video conferences without reflections from your computer screen skittering across your glasses and hiding your eyes. A pair of finely tuned computer lenses will be a boon to anyone who might spend the better part of the day working with photographs or other graphics, with columns of numbers, or pages of text.
Zeiss (for example) also offers a type of lens called Digital Boost, which gives a slight magnification to the lower part of the lens. This allows easy and rapid transition between normal vision and the close focus you need to check your digital devices.
Q: What are the benefits of DrveSafe lenses?
A: Simply put, lenses crafted to reduce glare and sharpen detail on the roads, especially at night, will make you a safer driver. Where untreated “normal” lenses, whether single vision or progressive, may keep the changing environment in focus, Zeiss’ DriveSafe lenses (or their equivalent from Hoya and Essilor) go one better. They expand the area of the lens devoted to far distance (the road and traffic ahead), sharpen near distance (your dashboard and mirrors) and most crucially actively reduce glare from oncoming headlights, streetlights and the like. This type of lens can be used day or night, even as your everyday pair.