So exactly how does one go about getting their own frame fitted with new spectacle lenses online The reglaze process is fairly straight forward and is almost certain to end up saving you a vast amount of money. You simply send your frame into the the online retailer and they do all the work at their prescription glazing lab. Once the lenses have been fitted, they simply send the updated spectacles back to you with your new prescription lenses fitted. But just how much can you save? Well, that ll depends on what type of lenses you require. For instance, someone with a fairly straight forward prescription, who only needs them for reading, could save around a third of what they would pay on the high street. Where as someone who needs varifocal spectacle lenses can actually save up to half of what a high street opticians would charge. Below are some price comparisons:-

UVA and UVB – How dangerous are they?

For the eyes, it’s the UVA and UVB rays that are the most damaging, when left exposed without the protection of prescription sunglasses. These two dangerous forms of UV can also cause a condition known as ‘photokeratitis’ which can happen when your eyes have been exposed to UV radiation combined with cold wind and snowy conditions. Photokeratitis causes an inflammation of the cornea but it rarely causes any permanent to the eyes. The symptoms are redness and irritation of the eyes and some people complain of experiencing temporary light sensitivity. Just remember, the next time you venture outdoors in the snow, on a bright day, without a pair of prescription sunglasses, you are probably doing your eyes more damage than you realise.

Buying prescription sunglasses online?

People, who require prescription sunglasses but choose not to wear them, over a long period of time, can also suffer from early cataract or, even worse, permanent damage to the retina. Any damage to your retina is normally irreversible so this is something you want to avoid at all costs. Buying a pair of prescription sunglasses to protect your eyes need not cost the earth. These days there are numerous online glasses retailers who offer these for less than £50. As always, just make sure that before you purchase anything, you do your homework on the company you are going to use. Try to avoid retailers based outside of the EU as they may have different regulations on the amount of  UV protection your lenses should have, in accordance with EU regulations. Don’t forget, even if you find an online glasses supplier that has a frame style to suite your requirements, but the price is a couple of pounds over your budget, it will be one of the wisest investments you are ever likely to make. After all, you simply cannot put a price on your vision can you?

3D glasses by Colours of Birch

Pekka Salokannel, a Finnish designer, came up with the idea when shooting off ideas for  his latest eyewear collection, ‘Titanic’. All his products are designed in Finland and printed in the Netherlands. Could this be the future of eye wear manufacturing? I think not, but what an exciting and innovative collection of frames these truly are. So come on, take of those moody 3D cinema glasses and grab yourself a pair of genuine 3D specks!

Frame Choice

If you have recently been advised by your Optician that your prescription requirements and lifestyle would suit Varifocal glasses then the ‘Varilux’ range of lenses are something you should consider especially of you are watching the pennies. Don’t be put off by other people telling you that you need a large, hideous frame to be able to accommodate these lenses as that has all changed since Essilor updated the design of their varifocal range. In fact recently Essilor have re-designed their complete range, in terms of the physics of the lenses, enabling them to be fitted into much smaller frames then ever before but still keeping the performance of the lenses to a maximum.  You can know have designer varifocal glasses, without the worry of adaption, in a fairly shallow frame if that is what you require. If you are already a wearer of varifocal lenses then the best place to buy these lenses is on the Internet as you can save up to around half price on these lenses if you ‘Google’ around. Over the next few Weeks we will be reviewing some of the best varifocal glasses lenses available on the market so watch this space..

Tom Ford 5163

We found one high street independent retailer in London selling these frames for £258, ouch! The good news is that we have found a very reputable online retailer offering these for only £144.20 which is a fantastic saving. Get down to Fashioneyewear.co.uk and get into the latest style of eyewear for 2011. I should at this stage point out that they don’t come with a big stick to ward off any unwanted female attention you might encounter!

One of the best quality prescription sunglasses we found for under £50

One thing to watch for though is that there are many online glasses retailers out there who can offer prescription sunglasses for a lot less than the average price that we found and there is normally a number of worrying reasons for this – they either don’t come with full UV protection, they are fitted with poor grade prescription lenses or they are from companies based abroad so their is always the risk that once you’ve paid they won’t turn up at all! The best of the bunch that we found were from SpeckyFourEyes who offer some very funky frames with fantastic colours from frame designers ‘Jigsaw’ and OnlineGlassesDirect who are currently offering a very stylish selection of prescription sunglasses from quality designer ‘Carducci’ for less than 50 quid!!

My recommendation through past experience is to only go with an online retailer who offers the best quality grade prescription sunglasses lenses with their frames, at least that way you know you will be getting full UV protection and will experience the best visual acuity and definition through your prescription sunglasses. If you browse our forums you will see some horror stories from customers who have bought cheap prescription sunglasses from bogus suppliers offering their products and ridiculously low prices only to be left empty handed and a few pound lighter. Over the coming couple of months I will be compiling a list of the most trusted online glasses retailers for you so we can put a stop to naive customers being scammed by online criminals.  Chow for now…

The multi award winning Adidas ID2 Ski goggles are amongst some of the best Ski eyewear available on the market and come with their own patented ‘Climacool’ technology. This technology works as a dynamic ventilation system within the frame. Specially engineered vents inside the frame allow the air to flow through the breathable ‘nanofoam’ without having any adverse effects on definition or visual acuity as it eliminates any fogging. The other great feature of these frames that I love is the ‘frame leveling’ which gives you an excellent fit even when worn with a helmet. All in all a great feat in eyewear engineering and at a price that should be affordable for professional and amature skiers alike. These goggles are currently being sold at my local sportswear specialists for £139, however,  you can get hold of pair of these for a mere £103.99 from Sports shades online – bargain!!