Spectacles made by the people who examined you.

Frames

Metal, acetate, rimless and half-rim, for adults and children. We look at whether it fits your face, whether it holds its adjustment, and whether it suits the lens your prescription needs.

Adjustments and small repairs are part of the job. Bring spectacles back when they slip.

Lenses

Single vision

One power, for distance or for reading

Bifocal

Two powers, with a visible line between them

Progressive

Distance to near, with no line

Progressives take some getting used to, and we will tell you that before you buy them rather than after.

• High index — thinner lenses for stronger prescriptions
• Anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings
• Photochromic — lenses that darken outdoors

We will tell you when a costlier lens makes a real difference, and when it does not.

Contact lenses

Contact lenses are a medical fitting, not a purchase. The power is not your spectacle power. The lens has to match the curve of your cornea. And the eye has to be checked afterwards.

What a fitting involves:

1. Measure The curve of your cornea, and your prescription converted to the power a lens on the eye needs.
2. A trial lens Put in, allowed to settle, then checked under magnification.
3. Handling You put them in and take them out yourself, here, until you can do it without help. Most people manage it in one sitting.
4. A check afterwards Come back once you have been wearing them. This is the appointment people skip, and the one that finds a problem early.
5. Done

Daily disposable, monthly, and lenses for astigmatism. If your eyes are not suited to contact lenses, we will say so.

Sunglasses

Look for ultraviolet protection, not a dark tint — they are different things, and a dark lens with no protection is worse than none at all.