Posted on 05/16/2018 9:35:42 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
If you have been wearing glasses for years, like me, it can be surprising to discover that you perceive the world thanks to a few giant companies that you have never heard of. Worrying about the fraying edge of motorway lights at night, or words that slide on the page, and occasionally spending a fortune at the opticians is, for many of us, enough to think about. And spectacles are unusual things. It is hard to think of another object in our society which is both a medical device that you don’t want and a fashion accessory which you do.
Buying them, in my experience anyway, is a fraught, somewhat exciting exercise that starts in a darkened room, where you contemplate the blurred letters and the degeneration of your visual cortex, and ends in a bright, gallery-like space where you enjoy the spry feel of acetate in your fingers, listen to what you are told, pay more than you were expecting to, and look forward to inhabiting a new, slightly sharper version of your existing self.
The $100bn (£74bn) eyewear industry is built on feelings such as this. In the trade, the choreography that takes you from the consulting room to the enticing, bare-brick display of £200 frames is known as “romancing the product”. The number of eye tests that turn into sales is the “capture rate”, which most opticians in Britain (or optometrists, as they are known in the rest of the world) set at around 60%. During the 20th century, the eyewear business worked hard to transform a physical deficiency into a statement of style. In the process, optical retailers learned the strange fact that for something that costs only a few pounds to make.....
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Great read.
Had stigmatism on my left eye all my life, and now have to wear bifocals.
I have noticed that there are very few optical glass companies (not just eyeglasses, but microscopes and such). The difference is the coatings and the branding.
The last time I bought a pair of glasses from an optometrist they cost close to $1,000. I have astigmatism, and wear bifocals. I also need prisms to correct double vision. I now buy my glasses online. I was able to get a pair of bifocals and a reading/computer pair for less than $100.
Thanks for this info, gotta do this again, soon.
I hate relying on an external object for something as basic as seeing. Definitely looking at Lasik, but I have moderate astigmatism, optician said not severe enough to disqualify me from Lasik but I likely won't end up with 20/20.
Great article!
It is way too long.
It is long.........
Spectacularly unhelpful Headline. I know, changing it is discouraged, but there are useful exceptions.
My sight is better now than it ever was, after cataract surgery due to old age. I chose to have far vision restored (for driving) through surgery, but need glasses for reading and any close work. The only glasses I bought through the surgery center was a set of bifocals that I actually rarely use or need. Since I have no astigmatism, I use disposable glasses from the Dollar Store which I replenish every few months. I have yet to find a way to prevent the small screws which hold them together from falling out, lost forever.
I have them scattered all over the house in the two most useful focus ranges.
I estimate that it costs me about $8 a year to have a constant useful supply of glasses.
I have unlimited sympathy, empathy, respect and admiration for all who have been born blind or have lost their sight, and are nevertheless able to lead a limited but useful life.
It is the one of the senses were were all intended to have, that having had it, I couldn't or wouldn't live without.
I just ordered new lenses yesterday. Frames are still good. I’m going online for safety glasses
#5 I had -6 and -9 in my eyes. Got lasik in 2007.
Did not reading glasses afterward. I saw 20/15 up till the past year or so. I am now 20/25
Last 4-5 years I have used +1.00 power reading glasses at work due to the company buying Dell pc’s which have lousy graphic cards which leave the text fuzzy. They have 275 watt power supplies and the cards are $30 retail. My home pc has a $150 card and state that I need a minimum of 400 watt power supply. (I have 850 watt). I have gone up to +1.50 this year. I am also getting older....
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