FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

To get new lenses in your own frames, you first place an order online for your desired lenses. Then, you securely package your glasses, preferably in a hard case, and mail them to us. We recommend using a signed-for or special delivery service for security. We can even measure your pupil distance from your old lenses, so all we need is your frame and your latest prescription.

The turnaround time depends on the service you require. For single-vision lenses and repairs, the process typically takes 2-5 days. If you have ordered varifocal lenses, the turnaround time is usually between 7-10 days.

Yes, in most cases, we can repair broken glasses and sunglasses, even if you've been told they are unrepairable. We can fix a wide range of issues, including hinges, screws, snapped frames, and more, for full-rim, semi-rimless, and rimless glasses.

When you send your frames, please include a copy of your order. If you cannot print the order, a note with your name, address, email, and telephone number will suffice. You will also need to have a current prescription for new lenses.

Our system can accommodate those with very high prescriptions, however, If your prescription is not available to order online please contact us with the details of the frames and lenses you are interested in, we will be happy to advise on the availability of your prescription.

This is quite common. The CYL and AXIS are used to correct an astigmatism. If you do not have an astigmatism, you will not have a CYL or AXIS included in your prescription.

You don't have to - as long as you have a current up-to-date prescription and you feel confident about entering the details into our ordering page, we don't need to see a copy, however you can attach a copy of your prescription to your order for us to check. You can also email or post this to us for verification just let us know your order number.

Under the UK Opticians Act of 1989, it is the obligation of any optician to provide you with a prescription. The optician will provide you with a thorough eye examination and is required by Law to provide you with a copy of your prescription for your own records. You are not under any obligation to purchase your glasses from your optician.

Varifocal spectacles have lenses which correct distance and near prescriptions on one lens. There is no visible dividing line like you would see on a bifocal lens. To anyone else looking at you, the lenses look like a standard single vision corrective lens. The lenses have a seamless transition between distance and near zones, giving you an area of intermediate (computer distance) in the middle of the lens.

Varifocal lenses are made to allow you to see objects in the distance, intermediate (computer length) and reading all with just one lens. With varifocal glasses, the lens has differing correction powers in different parts of the lens. Your distance prescription power is added to the top half of the lens, and your near prescription is added to the bottom part – this is what gives you your intermediate prescription power in the middle. You won’t always have an intermediate add stated on your prescription, but varifocal lenses naturally provide one by the nature of their design. Because of the way they are made, varifocal lenses naturally have softer areas of focus towards the edges of the lenses. This is more apparent with cheaper varifocal lenses. ALL our varifocal glasses are made with digital freeform varifocal lenses, even our entry level varifocal lens, helping to minimise peripheral distortion and give you the widest field of view possible

A Prism is to try and correct a lazy eye and indicates a more delicate condition, this is included with a prescription to correct some special conditions or some eye disorders that require the focused image to move position.

If your prescription contains a prism, please contact us with a copy of your prescription so we can advise the best product. There is an additional charge from £20.00 for prisms.

Unfortunately no, a contact lens prescription is entirely different to your spectacle prescription, if in doubt we advise confirming this with your optician before ordering.

Absolutely, just select your desired frame, once you have selected your frame, you will need to choose "frame only" then proceed to the basket and checkout.

The price displayed on the product page is correct for frame only.

 This only applies to single vision lenses. Bifocal and varifocal lenses are never “stock” lenses.

Stock
Stock lenses are lenses which are more common prescriptions, mass produced and stored on the shelf in labs, ready to cut immediately. They come as uncoated, hard coated and anti-reflective coated. There are even stock tinted and Transitions. There is no difference in quality between a stock lens and a non-stock lens, provided you are comparing the same index and lens type i.e. spherical and aspheric etc

Bespoke worked
This term makes the most sense to us. A bespoke worked lens is a one-off. You will need a bespoke worked lens if your prescription is not in range for stock.

Common powers for stock lenses are spheres (Sph) from -6.00 to +6.00, with cylinders (Cyl) from -2.00 to +2.00. Minus stock ranges can be higher on the spheres, depending on the manufacturer, but if your cylinders are more than 2.00, then you are usually looking at a specially worked lens.

The last thing you want, when purchasing new frames and lenses, or reglazing your own frame, is to have them come out thicker than you expected. We’ll explain what makes some lenses thicker than others, explain the differences between the lens materials, and then you can work out if choosing a thinner lens index is worth it.

These are our recommendations for getting your PD (Pupil Distance) measurement...

From your optician - You can request this information from your optician after your eye test or you can contact them for this measurement if your eye test was done in the past. (There might be a charge for this service)

Measure PD with a Mono PD ruler - You can measure your pupillary distance (PD) yourself with a PD measure ruler.

Normally the Optician holds the ruler between thumb and forefinger and steadies his hand by placing his remaining three fingers against the patient's head. The Optician then closes his right eye. The patient is instructed to look at the opticians open left eye while the optician lines up the millimetre mark on the ruler with the centre of the patients right eye Pupil. The optician then closes his left eye and opens his right eye and instructs the patient to look at the open right eye. The optician lines up the millimetre mark on the ruler with the centre of the patients left eye Pupil. Add these two numbers together to obtain your PD/Pupillary Distance, for example if you had RE; 32mm and LE; 33mm you would enter a PD/Pupillary Distance of 65mm, On average the PD in an adult is usually between 60 and 66 millimetres. You can also order as your mono PD measurements if you wish, this will be useful and more accurate. 

 If you are still unsure there are a few Apps (Via your Mobile phone) that can help we have found GlassesOn Get my PD section to be accurate. App available from the Apple App Store or Play Store. 

 Sphere
The sphere (Sph) specifies the strength of lens required to correct your focus - a plus sphere to correct long-sightedness and a minus to correct short sightedness.

The sphere is measured in Dioptre’s, your prescription may have the word Plano or Pl or an infinity sign, this means that you are neither long nor short sighted but zero power for the Sphere, however you may have astigmatism – a CYL and AXIS on your prescription. Most values range from 0.00 to +/- 20.00 and go up in steps of 0.25.

Cylinder
The CYL and AXIS compensate for an astigmatism. An astigmatism is where the eye is shaped slightly like a rugby ball or referred to as ‘toric’, not a perfect sphere like a football. This means the eye has difficulty focusing at certain angles.

This box maybe empty or have a plus or a minus value in it. The measurement is the Dioptre. Most values range from +/- 0.25 to +/- 4.00 and will go up in steps of 0.25.

 Axis
The AXIS is only present if there is a value in the CYL box, the AXIS tells us where the astigmatism is on your eye. The measurement is in Degrees. The values range between 0 and 180 and may go up in steps of ½, 1, 5 or 10 degrees, we only show the AXIS to a whole number but if you have a ½ degree on your prescription you can list this in the additional information box when ordering.

 ADD (Addition)
The Add, short for Reading Addition, is the additional correction required for reading, this can be used to make either reading glasses, bifocal glasses or Varifocal glasses.

This figure is an indication of how much extra power is required ‘on top’ of the distance prescription for near or intermediate glasses. This extra power will ALWAYS be the same for each eye and may only appear once on your prescription but it is understood to be meant for both eyes. The measurement is the Dioptre, and most values range from +0.50 to +3.50 and will go up in steps of 0.25.

The 'addition' is only required if the glasses are going to be used for reading or close work. If your glasses are for distance only, this will not be an issue. Sometimes opticians use the word 'Add' or 'Near' instead of 'addition'. They may only write it once, but it normally applies to both eyes and is almost always the same value for both eyes (e.g. 'Add' +2.50 - should be entered for both eyes).

Prism
A Prism is to try and correct a lazy eye and indicates a more delicate condition, this is included with a prescription to correct some special conditions or some eye disorders (like squints) that require the focussed image to move position. The measurement is Prism Dioptre. The value may be as high as 10 and may go up in steps of ½ or 1 Prism Dioptre’s.

Prism powers will always be accompanied with a direction which is usually seen as a base direction such as IN, OUT, UP and DOWN; for example; Prism 3.00 Base IN. Some people may have prism in two directions for one eye, for example; Prism 3.00 Base IN & 2.00 Base UP.

We can offer up to 3.00 Dioptre's of prism online however if yours exceed this or if you have more than one direction for each eye please contact us to confirm suitability and availability.

If in doubt you have the function to upload an image of your prescription for our team to check.

Transitions™ Signature® -    Fastest reacting lenses that turn from dark to clear depending on light conditions. Available in 8 different colours (Full colour range in Bespoke lenses Only.)   
Transitions™ XTRActive® -   Goes extra dark outdoors and darkens behind car windscreens. Available in brown, green and grey.    
Transitions™ Drivewear® -    Combines light intelligence with polarisation. Tinted light olive by default and turns dark behind car windscreens. Not suitable for night time driving.

HARD COAT - A hard coating is a clear film applied to the lens surface that makes it much more scratch resistant. It shouldn’t be considered as anti-scratch, as it will protect the lens surface from minor abrasions. We would always recommend that you clean lenses with a special glasses cleaning cloth. All thin lenses come with a scratch resistant coating as standard, as do Transitions® and polarised lenses. All HMAR Lenses also feature a built-in scratch resistant coating.

Anti-reflection -Anti-reflective coatings are also known as AR, or MAR, and comprise many different thin layers of coating to greatly reduce glare from different wavelengths of light. By reducing unwanted reflections from the lens surfaces, more light is transmitted through the lens, making vision clearer. They are especially important for thin lens materials which reflect more light than standard lenses.

Anti-reflection coatings can show smudges more readily than uncoated lenses so should be cleaned regularly with a Optical cleaning cloth.

Blue Light Anti-reflective -Blue Light Anti reflective feature a specially developed type of anti-reflective coating that filters out blue-violet light emitted from mobile devices. If you work at a computer a lot or spend your time using a tablet or mobile phone, you’ll find this coating much more restful than looking at them without it. Contrast is enhanced and your eyes will feel less fatigued. Blue light lenses also protect you from harmful UV light and come with a built in scratch resistant coating.

Night Drive Anti-reflective -  is a dynamic lens coating designed for people on the move. Whether you’re driving at night, walking through low-light environments, or simply seeking everyday visual comfort, adapts to changing light conditions to minimise glare and enhance contrast.

Sunglass Tints - Plain dark tints are known as ‘solid’ tints and are available in brown, green, or grey. These are the most neutral colours to look through as they don’t distort the natural colour of things. All our tints come with a UV400 coating to protect against UVA/B and they block out just over ¾ of the brightness of the light so are excellent on a sunny day. Fashion tints Blue, Pink, Yellow And Orange are not a dark sunglass.

Graduated tints are available in the same colours and are dark at the top, fading to almost clear at the bottom of the lens. They are especially useful for driving as they enable you to see the darker, lower parts of the dashboard clearer than a solid dark tint.

Polarised Tint - Polarised tints almost completely eliminate reflected glare and block 100% of harmful UVA/B light rays. They enhance contrast and visual comfort from sunlight reflected on water, wet roads, hazy conditions and snow. The downside of polarised lenses is that you may not be able to see your mobile phone or other hand-held device display. This is because LCD screens are also polarised to reduce glare, and unless the polarisation is in the same direction as the polarised layer in the glasses some or all of the image will be obscured.