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Originally Posted by
Opticianjw
Recently I had a conversation about optician skills, knowledge and overall skill level comparison from opticians 30 years ago. The optician 30 years ago had to be more conscience of the frame fit because the lenses and frames were much heavier.
The opticians then were just more consciencious, and had the availablity of many lens sizes, bridge sizes, and temple lengths, and at least 4 to 6 colors to choose from in each frame. A frame made in one size only was a rarity, and considered substandard.
Ordering the proper bridge size, bridge style and temple length was more crucial to making a patient comfortable.
No....they were actually just fitting, not selling.
Aphakic lenses and facet eyewear is a thing of the past which needed a highly knowledgeable Optician to fit and dispense.
Aphakic fit took skill, but facets were for fun.
Repairs, like hidden hinges soldering and custom work was an art that very few opticians do or know about today. I agree.
Lab work was much more time consuming and difficult, making sure lenses fit properly and was accurate was an art and showed a disparity between different levels of skill, which was clear in the final product.
Still is.....it's easy to spot a bad trace, even today.
Making patterns, calculating measurements, custom tinting made making a pair of eye glasses take more time and skill then using the automized lab equipment that we generally use today.
I find that some patternless edgers take longer to set up the lenses, and cut than before!
Tinting and UV coating lenses that was done 30 years ago has primarily been replace with transition and polarized lenses.
Say what! Not new stuff, especially polarized.
Dispensing was also a speciality that patients recognized someone that could properly fit and adjusted a pair of eyeglasses.
They still search for this, but honestly, eventually give up.
Today, because the styles are generally small and the material are very light are not as uncomfortable, even if not fit properly.
Yes excuses and I have seen some real rocks on people's faces.
Fitting for progressive lenses and digital technology is continually changing, staying updated is much more important for todays opticians.
If you can get any technical information from your company/maker, or even have a choice in what you use.
Fitting today, regardless if you are using a digital centration system or not is more important to be accurate than when selling flat tops, kryptoc and executive bifocals.
I call BS.
Added measurements such as face form, vertex distance and panto angle are needed today when selling the most advanced personalized lenses, which were not needed before.
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