Picking the right lenses for you
When you come to buying your next pair of glasses your thoughts are probably focused on hunting out the right frames.
And with so many different styles, colours and shapes on offer it’s easy to find just the right pair to suit your look.
There is another important option to consider, too – which lenses to choose for your perfect pair of specs.
There are various options available which can make a real difference to your vision.
Scratch resistant lenses
At Patrick & Menzies all our lenses come with a scratch resistant coating as standard. This will help your lenses last longer, slowing down the inevitable build-up of scratches that comes with daily wear. It doesn’t make them bulletproof but it definitely helps!
Reflection-free lenses
These are a great choice if you regularly sit in front of a computer screen or often drive at night as the coating cuts out harsh reflection and reduces glare, resulting in clearer vision. The reflection-free coating works by allowing more light to travel through the lenses which in turn means your eyes can relax so you don’t have to strain to focus. And if you are partial to taking the odd selfie you will notice another benefit with these lenses, as they allow the world to see your peepers rather than just a reflection.
At Patrick & Menzies we use Nikon’s SeeCoat range, providing a quality solution at the cutting edge of lens design and manufacture.
Thin and light lenses
Certain prescriptions, frame sizes and shapes can make your lenses thicker and heavier than they could otherwise be. At Patrick & Menzies, we use Nikon’s range of hi-index lens materials to make your lenses thinner and lighter so they can look great and feel fantastic. Plus all our thin and light lenses are anti-reflection coated as standard so they’re visually more comfortable too.
Photochromic lenses
Fed up switching between your daily glasses and sunglasses? Photochromic lenses could be the answer! These lenses adapt to different light conditions giving excellent glare protection in bright sunshine, and a moderate tint for when conditions are less bright. It means you feel visually comfortable without the need to juggle multiple pair of specs! All photochromic lenses from Patrick & Menzies are fully UV safe and scratch resistant as standard.
The Patrick & Menzies team are happy to talk through the benefits of different lenses and help pick the right option for you. Just ask your dispensing optician when picking out your next pair of frames.
Book your appointment online, or give us a call.
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Lenses truly tailored to your vision
Our ability to tailor your lenses to make them more responsive to your needs just got even better thanks to our partnership with Nikon.
While all lenses are made to your unique prescription, with Nikon’s help we can now make further refinements to increase just how accurate the lens is once made into a pair of glasses.
Nikon lenses are designed in Japan, using absolute cutting-edge technology. They are then manufactured here in the UK, meaning great turnaround times, reliable supply and top-notch customer service.
Although these more individualised lenses will be particularly useful for varifocal wearers, there are some real advantages when it comes to single vision lenses, too.
Dan Edwards, Patrick & Menzies Partner and Dispensing Optician, explained: “When we examine your eyes and work out what type of prescription you need, we use either a trial frame or a phoropter head. These both contain quite small, very flat, round glass lenses that are positioned at a given distance (normally 10-12mm from the eye) and are quite vertical in front of the eyes. All these parameters affect the overall result of the prescription. When your glasses are made, the lenses are nearly always more curved, bigger and sit at a slightly different distance and angle to the patient. These differences can alter the effective prescription that reaches the back of the eyes, and in some cases detract from the optimum result.
“In most cases the effect is small and not noticeable, and to a certain extent, because this has always been the case in spectacle production, patients have become tolerant to these differences. In some cases, such as strong prescriptions, unusual frame fittings and in particular varifocals, the differences can be quite large and reduce the clarity and field of vision in the spectacles.”
Making more individualised lenses really became possible with the advent of Freeform technology. It gives lens manufacturers the ability to minutely alter the curvature of the lens surface at individual points to make sure lenses truly match measurements taken in the consulting room.
Dan added: “This means we can tell the manufacturer all the different fitting parameters of the frame as it sits on the patient’s face, and they can control the lens surfaces so that they much more accurately match what was given in the consulting room. This gives the patient clearer vision, and a wider, more natural field.
“This is particularly beneficial in varifocal lenses, where the visual field is naturally restricted due to the way the lens has to be made. Any improvement in this area in particular helps to make the lenses feel more normal and help adaptation. The more accurate you can make the lens, and the less error in the periphery, the greater the chance of success, and great vision.”
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