Are glass lenses obsolete? I was just wondering. As I was studying lens materials I always read of the superior optical performance of glass lenses. I got a pair and I do love them, they are heavier but they are clearer (though not drastically). We sell glass lenses about once every three months and that is to older people. I was wondering if any of you have any predictions about the future of ophthalmic glass.
Glass is dying a slow painful death. We sell 30 - 50 pairs of it per week because a lot of our customers' patients are Amish/Mennonite.
P.S. I will only wear glass myself, and I can have anytyhing I want.
We do one pair a year. I think it is becoming obsolete. The other materials are getting much better with scratch resistance and stuff.
As long a there are people who realize spectacles purpose is to provide better vision. Some will want the best vision and get GLASS!
No, glass is not obsolete....I agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Anderson. Glass is and always been viable. New materials has made glass less used, but personally, I wear it in my dailey glasses and my sunglasses. Yes, I professionally sell about
two, maybe three pair a week.
Mud
"God will bless Pope John Paul II."
Yeah I am sold I will only wear glass from now on!
I can never tell the difference between my vision in glass lenses and polycarbonate.
I estimate only one in many could.
Just for the safety and weight factors glass is obsolete. Standard of care for children under 18 is polycarbonate-period. So younger folks are growing up with lighter,safer glasses and would never switch into glass. Anyone in a ocular high risk occupation (like a farmer) who is prescribed glass and gets a serious eye injury with vision loss has a good cause for suing the prescriber. Just my 2 cents of thought.
I am with you, I have a pair of glass, a pair of trivex and a pair of poly, aside from the fact that I love to wear drills and I am a minus four (so glass not practical) I notice no difference. Infact I was so sold when I went to a trivex abo credit class that I ordered a pair immediately and hate to say that all three side by side there is no noticable difference. Hard to admit but Heil Poly thin light uv and impact resistance I m not sure why people dislike it.Originally Posted by For-Life
Poly is a material that takes a lot of heat. It is thin (thinner than trivex), light, impact resistant, and good for drill mounts IF you use a proper sealent. I have not had anyone come back on a poly job vision wise, and actually I had one person who was wearing poly, put a pair of 1.56's on her and she could not adapt to the 1.56, and had to put it into poly.
1.67 is my favourite material, but it is a little out of most peoples price range.
Actually looking at many other countries, glass is still the biggest selling lens but plastic is making progress everywhere.
However in all other countries they do not have the thickness and shatter proof requirements as in the USA.
In Europe and eslsewhere you can still get those super thin lenses in glass.
Last edited by Chris Ryser; 04-03-2005 at 09:23 AM.
You gonna find this strange, and argue about it, i.e. safetly, etc. But Most Farmers, especially old farmers prefer glass. Many of them wear the same pair of glasses for decadess (I know this offends your sense of ecconomics and "patient care") but its the case. Especially poor (which many are) farmers. Why: It lasts longer and scratches a lot less in dry dusty dirty field conditions.
The photo-whatever work better and longer as photochromic out in the field. These men are tough, they don't worry too much about little things like weight.
Get to know your clientele or potential clientele before you decide what's best for them....
Chip
I think glass still has it,s place in our business, personally i wear serengeti sunglasses and i defy any plastic lens to come close to their filtering and optical
quality: I had a client yesterday who came for a cl check up and he happened to mention he had some oakleys and what did i think of them , fortunately for once it was a nice sunny day, so i got him to look through his oakleys then i handed him a pair of serengeti drivers to look through, his first words were
s**t, these are great: he then proceded to buy a pair .
I often dispense 1.9 glass as well they are great for really high myopes.
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
But now Serengetti has their poly lens, which is just as great.
are you sure it has the same spectral control filters as the glass lens,do they get rid of blue blur?
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
I put them on and cannot tell the difference. I have been wearing serengetti's for years and feel that they are the best out there.
I totally agree for life, I get really annoyed when some poor ****** has paid a fortune for sunglasses just because it has some stupid name on the side, you can guarantee they will be glazed with standard cr 39 lenses,of dubious optical quality.
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
When I started in the optical business in 1967 90 percent of lenses dispensed were glass, today 90 percent are plastic. To my knowledgethere are two glass lens manufactures left in the world, and if you check your wholesale price list the cost of glass is going up every year.
Many sun lenses out there are junk. Then these guys come into your store (Nike) and tell you how special their new innovative lens is. Then they give it a nickname like Superior Inhancing Colourful Special Optics to their grey acrilic lens with a back side scratch coat.
If you sell glass lenses, the chances are greater that a one-eyed man will own your house.
Glass is definately not obsolete. Everyone praises the optical performance of glass however CR-39 is very close in abbe value, in my opinion what makes glass still a good choice in lens materials is scratch resistance. I still every now and again get patients who work in highly dusty enviornments (cement plant for example), for some reason no one is offering glass as an option. So as you can guess I swoop in and save the day, by offering glass as an option they avoid their glasses looking like ice skating rinks after 2-3 months of wear. Of course their is also the sunglass wearers, Have you noticed some of the premium sunglasses (maui jim for example) come with glass polarized lenses with a backside AR, now if that is not premium for glare reduction I don't know what is. I wear glass sunglasses myself, because like many of my patients who wants to take meticulus care of a pair of sunglasses. If presented to the customer in a correct manner glass is still a valuable material.
Can't wait to read your article on glass.
I agree it serves a purpose but because of the weight and breakability factor I would be much more likely to recommend a cr39 or poly material with a wty bearing hard coat. I really enjoy offering premium ar's as they are easy to care for and wty'd for two years. So when the pt does scratch them then thats fine, I will jusy happily order new lenses. Perhaps it is becuase I am young....it just seesm silly to not catch up with technology. We have awesome availabilities, why not use them?
Should I recommend it to the teen that has a +3.00 with a -4.00 cyl?? He wants the best optics available!! So does he get glass too?
hell thats what i'd use... just get the thickness right... cyls are normally only a drama on edging, due to pressure differences across the chuck
don't forget plastic shatters too, not just glass. I still to this day refuse to use polycarbonate, for lighter eyewear, its a safety material, IMO and something that is usefull for 3 piece rimless
glass is still sold and made by many manufacturers, such as Rodenstock, Hoya, Sola, Carl Zeiss, and Younger. You then have the sunglass manufacturers that still use glass, and thank goodness for Ray-Ban staying with glass on full frame items, with an OPTION for wallycarb....
Last edited by Jimbob; 04-05-2005 at 10:49 AM.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks