A $600 frame with a $40  lens is a $40 pair of glasses.

Frame = lens design = coating.

All 3 carry equal weight.  Skimp on 2 of three, and the one that you spent money on, stops mattering.

A Pair of Glasses is 3 Products.

You’re only been shopping for one.

1. Frame – what you see

2. Lens:  design and material

3.  Coating:  does the actual work.

Your lenses aren’t just plastic.  Choose the right lens:

CR39:  standard plastic | thick, heavy, cheapest

Polycarbonate:  nearly unbreakable | blocks UV on its own

Trivex:  light, tough | the clearest optics

High Index:  thin and light | for high prescriptions

Same prescription.  Completely different vision. Lens choice is the difference.

Off-the-rack vs. tailored to YOUR eyes

Stock lenses are pre-made in bulk, ground to the closest match.

Digital / Freeform lenses are surfaced point-by-point for your Rx, frame, and fit.

Same prescription, same frame, two different people, completely different vision quality.  The only difference is how the lens was made.

Coatings are microscopic; what they do to your daily vision isn’t.

AR coating:  is the difference between ‘clear’ and actually CLEAR.  It cuts glare from headlights, screens, camera flash.  More light reaches your eye – sharper vision at night.  Not all AR is equal.  Cheap AR clouds and streaks within a year.

5 more coatings you’re probably wearing – or missing!

Scratch—resistant:  protects the surface of the lens

Hydrophobic:  water beads off

Oil-resistant:  fingerprints wipe clean

Anti-static:  stops dust clinging

Fog-resistant:  clear through temperature change

Clear lenses do NOT have UV protection.  Choose the right lens:

UV light is linked to cataracts and long term eye damage.  Polycarbonate, Trivex, and high index block UV automatically.  Standard CR-39 plastic lenses do NOT- unless it’s treated.

Photochromic lenses aren’t magic. They’re chemistry – with rules.

Darken in UV light, clears back up indoors

Triggered by UV not by brightness

Barely activates behind a windshield- car glass blocks UV.

Slower to darken in cold weather.

A dark lens and a polarized lens are not the same thing.

Tint reduces overall brightness; that’s it.     Polarized sunglasses showing clarity of mountain and water Maple Grove Eye Doctors at Pearle Vision

Polarized filters reflected glare off water, snow, roads, hoods.

There’s a lens built specifically to cut oncoming headlight glare at night.

Tints

Fashion tints:  mostly aesthetic – a look, not a function

Neutral density:  dims light evenly without color shift

Medical:  prescribed for light sensitivity and migraines.   A medical tint is a specific color and density recommended by a medical provider, not something that you choose because it looks good.

Our opticians have these conversations with our patients every single time.  Not just ‘which frame do you like?’

Frame Selection Tips

Comfort is just as important as style:  make sure that it doesn’t slide down, pinch your ears, or hurt the bridge of your nose.

Popular materials:  titanium, stainless steel, acetate, TR90

Precision measurements.  Even a perfect prescription can feel wrong if the measurements are inaccurate |  pupillary distance (PD), optical Center,  panascopic  tilt, vertex distance, segment height (for progressives and Multifocal lenses)

Prescription

An accurate prescription is the foundation of good vision.  Check that you understand your Rx with your doctor:  sphere (SPH), cylinder (CYL), add power (if needed), prism (if prescribed).

Before you leave the store, check that the frame is comfortable (doesn’t pinch or slide), no dizziness, vision is clear, and that the optical centers align with your pupils.

 

For a precise and customized pair of glasses, stop in at our office at 13195 Weaver Lake Rd in Maple Grove or Schedule an eye exam first with one of our doctors.