This only works if they don’t wrap around a lot. You won’t be able to get an Rx lens put into a frame designed for an 8- or 9-base lens usually.
I got my last pair of glasses from Wally World for about $150, I think. I have a horrible allergy to nickel, so I have to be really careful what type of metal is used in the frames. I would have gone with a plastic frame but couldn’t find any I liked. The lenses were $50, which is a lot less than the price the optician I used to go to quoted me, plus his selection of frames wasn’t that hot either. Also paid $60 for my contacts from Sam’s Club, where I’d been paying about $100 from the “specialty” store downtown that just handled contacts.
And I second the suggestion that anyone who’s over 35 to get thee to an optometrist. Better to catch anything that’s going wrong now than later.
I pay a few dollars every month for the company vision plan;
It’s not a bad deal;
It pays for one full eye exam / year
Something like up to $100 for frames
something like up to $100 for lenses
And a few extra goodies
Yes, cheap enough frames exist where I could basically have it all covered by insurance, but man are they ugly.
I just bought a new pair of glasses last december - total bill was ~$400 but I paid about $100 after insurance.
Plus - my insurance now covers photoreactive tinting! w00t! I used to consider the “Transitions” type tinting to be a bit…old fogeyish, but having them now I love it. I walk out into the sun and my glasses turn into sunglasses in about a minute.
Pity they don’t work in cars, but I picked up a prescription pair of sunglasses as well. Those cost me, but are also well worth it.
I wish I knew.
My last pair at Pearle Vision were nearly $500 about a year ago! And I was not happy with the service.
I’m going to check out that Zenni optical place.
Granted I have a high diopter but I figure at those prices it can’t hurt to try.
Transitions are *not *old fogeyish. They’re terrific. smirks
The latest generation is just hitting the market - Gen6. They’re less susceptible to temperature - they get darker in hot climates and fade faster in cold ones.
They’ll never work in cars because they’re UV activated, and your car’s interior is UV protected. Actually, a version of hyper active ones were tried out a few years ago but never caught on. They darkened in the car, but they were always somewhat dark since they were so easily activated.
Electrochromic glasses were attempted. They darkened at the push of a tiny button on the temple. The tiny electronics made fabrication prohibitively expensive. Test market pairs ran about $800. That went over like a lead balloon, which is a shame because they were great fun. I imagine someone (probably from China) will come along and find a way to manufacture them for less than half that and the whole world will be wearing them ten years later.
There are lens materials on the market that are significantly more durable in rimless frames than standard polycarbonate. I’ve been told they make quite a difference in those type of frames.
No doubt yours had to be sent out to another lab or they had to special-order blanks. The cyl of those is pretty high on top of a sphere that is tending towards the high end, too.
Note: the axis (your “x 45,” “x 130”) has no effect on the cost. It represents the cylindrical alignment in degrees (relative to vertical, I think – again, it’s been a while since I had to use this knowledge) and it merely tells the lab how to position the shape cam in the shaping machine. It matters not what the number is, although the more severe the cyl number, the more important it is for the lab op to be accurate, as your kind of eyes will be quite particular.
Hey, your idea, I like! If it works, go for it!
Probably will piss off the lab, as they’ll know exactly what you are doing. They won’t have a cam for that frame and may have to make one from scratch. It’s so uncommon they probably don’t charge extra for it. Clever, dude. It just goes to show how this shit is priced – charge according to what the market will bear, not what it costs to make. The word “designer” is worth $50 at least!
I alternate between contacts and glasses. Partly so that I can wear cheap sunglasses in the summer.
Cheap sunglasses just don’t last like quality prescription frames. Soft steel, poor hardware, non-sprung temples etc.
And it isn’t just how they are treated: In a pinch, I have done the reverse of your suggestion and installed lenses from a prescription pair into a cheap frame after ruining a good frame. That will work for maybe a month before the cheap frames die from daily wear.
This is absolutely true. I have several pairs of quite attractive glasses that all cost below $70. The selection here in Seoul is also much better than what I could find in the United States. These Japanese glasses frames are just awesome!