Same Day Glasses PhiladelphiaIn House Eyeglasses Edging
Our tracer and lens edger has the ability to trace the shape of a frame and then cut a lens to shape. This allows us to provide expedited services, if available in your prescription, such as:
Call (215)372-0147 to see if we have your prescription in stock to make your same day eyeglasses in Philadelphia! |
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What is the thinnest glasses lens?
Polycarbonate Lenses - The standard lens material used in the United States for mild to moderate prescriptions +/- 4.00D. This lens material also goes by the name of Essilor Airwear because it is the most lightweight of materials. Polycarbonate is also what is used for safety glasses because of its impact resistance and durability. When combined with Crizal Rock, you are getting the most scratch resistance, durable, easy-to-clean, and lightweight lens available.
High Index Lenses - The "index of refraction" translates to how well a material bends (aka refracts) light. Have you ever held a stick in water and noticed it looks bent or broken? This is because water has a high index of refraction and bends the light differently compared to the air above. Another way of bend or refracting light is by using a curved lens. All prescription glasses have a curvature on both the front and back surface of the lens in order to create the prescription. In general, the higher the curvature results in a higher prescription. Unfortunately, the higher curvature also results in a thicker and heavier lens. Thicker lenses are not only cosmetically undesirable, but optically make it harder to see through. Lenses with a higher index of refraction means that they are made of a denser plastic that is able to bend light better, which means it requires less curvature to achieve the same prescription. Less curvature means a thinner lens.
Pro Tip: If you want the thinnest lens possible, the frame you select matters! For minus lenses especially, the lenses are thinnest in the middle and get thicker towards the edge. This means that the bigger the lens, the thicker the lens. Typically, rounder lenses are best because it results in a uniform thickness all the way around. If you like the oversized frame look, there are plenty of frames that provide that appearance, but the lens itself remains on the smaller side. If you fall in love with a larger frame, but have a moderate prescription, then we can choose the next level high index lenses. For example, if your prescription is -7.00D and you want a larger frame, we can use 1.74 High Index to achieve a thinner lens as compared to 1.67 High Index. Come in to SeeSharp today to see what we mean in person and help our expert opticians find a custom fit!
High Index Lenses - The "index of refraction" translates to how well a material bends (aka refracts) light. Have you ever held a stick in water and noticed it looks bent or broken? This is because water has a high index of refraction and bends the light differently compared to the air above. Another way of bend or refracting light is by using a curved lens. All prescription glasses have a curvature on both the front and back surface of the lens in order to create the prescription. In general, the higher the curvature results in a higher prescription. Unfortunately, the higher curvature also results in a thicker and heavier lens. Thicker lenses are not only cosmetically undesirable, but optically make it harder to see through. Lenses with a higher index of refraction means that they are made of a denser plastic that is able to bend light better, which means it requires less curvature to achieve the same prescription. Less curvature means a thinner lens.
- 1.67 High Index - The best choice for moderate prescriptions between +/- 4.00D to 8.00D. This is a very common lens material that comes in a wide availability of add-on options like Crizal anti glare and Transitions.
- 1.74 High Index - The thinnest lens material possible. 1.74 High Index is best for prescriptions above +/- 8.00D. These lenses automatically come with Crizal Sapphire anti glare, which is the most transparent treatment on the market. Despite being the thinnest lens out there, any prescription over +/- 8.00D will have some thickness, which is why it is imperative to have Crizal Sapphire to ensure the best optical quality through that extra material.
Pro Tip: If you want the thinnest lens possible, the frame you select matters! For minus lenses especially, the lenses are thinnest in the middle and get thicker towards the edge. This means that the bigger the lens, the thicker the lens. Typically, rounder lenses are best because it results in a uniform thickness all the way around. If you like the oversized frame look, there are plenty of frames that provide that appearance, but the lens itself remains on the smaller side. If you fall in love with a larger frame, but have a moderate prescription, then we can choose the next level high index lenses. For example, if your prescription is -7.00D and you want a larger frame, we can use 1.74 High Index to achieve a thinner lens as compared to 1.67 High Index. Come in to SeeSharp today to see what we mean in person and help our expert opticians find a custom fit!
What are anti glare lenses?
There are two considerations when it comes to glare with glasses: the glare that decreases the quality of your vision and the glare the reflects off of the front of the lenses that people see when they look at you. The basic concept of anti glare lenses is to allow more of the light to pass through the lens rather than reflect off of the lens. There are two main categories of anti glare, which result in huge differences in quality and performance.
- Standard Anti Glare Coatings - These are inexpensive add ons after the lens has been manufactured that are sprayed on. They do provide a more transparent lens and look cosmetically better than an uncoated lens. Unfortunately, they can make the lenses harder to keep clean leaving smudges behind and the more you rub the lenses the more they create a static charge that attracts dust. Also, the degrade easily especially when exposed to heat or alcohol-based cleaners and have a general lifespan of 1-2 years before they start to separate from the lens, which is known as "crazing".
- Premium Anti Glare Treatments - All Crizal products are premium anti glare treatments. We call them treatments because they are manufactured within the layers of the lens itself rather than a coating that is added on retroactively. This results in a lens that does not degrade over time like a standard anti glare coating. Crizal anti glare treatments also come with a 2 year warranty for any scratches, chips, or defects. Although these lenses come with a steeper price tag up front, the quality and performance is unmatched and the warranty guarantees replacement when life happens!
What are Crizal Lenses?
Crizal is a brand name premium no-glare treatment that is "baked" into the lens. This no-glare solution is far superior to standard anti-glare coatings that are hard to keep clean, degrade over time, and can peel and become cloudy.
There 3 main offerings from Crizal's newest technology include:
There 3 main offerings from Crizal's newest technology include:
- Crizal Sapphire HR 360: The best no-glare treatment on the market allowing more light to pass through the lens to your eye rather than getting reflected back out. The lenses are so transparent it almost looks like you are wearing frames without lenses.
- Crizal Rock: The most scratch resistant lenses available and are also incredibly easy to keep clean from smudges. This is a great treatment for everyday wear and tear.
- Crizal Prevencia: Blue Light blocking no-glare reflects out the harmful High Energy Visible light being emitted from our devices and the sun. The best treatment for protecting the inside of the eyes from UV and HEV light. They do have a purple reflection off of the front of the lens that others can see, so be sure to ask to view our sample to be sure you are happy with that aesthetically.
What are progressive lenses?
Progressives are sometimes to referred to as a "no-line bifocal". Modern day progressives are much more advanced than that. In general, think of the lens having a gradient prescription starting with your distance prescription at the top and then blended to the near prescription at the bottom. Typically, patients over the age of 42 will begin to require separate prescriptions for distance, intermediate, and near. Progressives allow patients to see clearly at all distances without having to switch between multiple frames.
We offer Varilux brand progressives, which are the best lenses available because they spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year researching, developing, and testing new technology to improve the progressive experience. Their newest lens that came out in July 2023 is the Varilux XR Series, which requires custom measurements for each patient in the exact frame to be filled. We take these measurements with an Optikam postural device that measures where spot where you look through the lens for each eye individually, how the frames sit, and even your natural posture. These progressives combined with custom measurements result in easier adaptation, wider field of vision, and the least amount of variable vision when you are in motion. The hope is that you forget that you are wearing glasses and it restores your functional vision at all distances as if you were back in your 30s.
We offer Varilux brand progressives, which are the best lenses available because they spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year researching, developing, and testing new technology to improve the progressive experience. Their newest lens that came out in July 2023 is the Varilux XR Series, which requires custom measurements for each patient in the exact frame to be filled. We take these measurements with an Optikam postural device that measures where spot where you look through the lens for each eye individually, how the frames sit, and even your natural posture. These progressives combined with custom measurements result in easier adaptation, wider field of vision, and the least amount of variable vision when you are in motion. The hope is that you forget that you are wearing glasses and it restores your functional vision at all distances as if you were back in your 30s.
What are Transitions lenses?
Also known as photochromic lenses, this means that they change color (tint) when exposed to sunlight. Transitions is the most widely used brand and offer the most options:
- Transitions Signature Generation 8. Yes, generation 8 means that they have come up with 7 new versions since you remember seeing them on your classmate in 3rd grade after recess thinking "are his glasses ever going to get clear again?". What use to take 18 minutes, Transitions Gen 8 turns back to clear in about 3 minutes. In terms of darkening, it happens immediately and the difference is that Gen 8 gets 30% darker than Gen 7.
- Transitions XtrActive. If you want your Transitions to look like true sunglasses and need them to get darker behind the windshield of the car, then go with XtrActive. They will have a subtle 10% tint while indoors, but most people like how that helps take the edge of off fluorescent lights and screens without looking like you are wearing tinted glasses indoors. When you go out in the sun they get as dark as the darkest sunglasses.
- Transitions XtrActive Polarized. The newest offering from Transitions is an amazing lens that goes from clear, unpolarized indoors to a dark polarized lens outdoors. The way they do it is by integrating magic within the lens itself. Polarized lenses are the best for those that spend a lot of time outdoors and want to eliminate the glare coming off of surfaces like the road while driving, reflections off of water when on a boat, and the blinding glare off of snow.
- Transitions Style Mirror. A fashionable trend is having your lenses with a slight tint of varying colors. If you want to take it a step further, you can go with a "flash mirror". Imagine a glossy finish on the outside of the lens in a variety of colors, but does not totally block your eyes from being visible. The advantage of mirrored finishes is that it makes you look cool without changing your vision. A solid pink tint may match your outfit, but makes everything look monochromatic pink all day. Transitions Style Mirror lenses go from a clear lens with a flash mirror to a darkly tinted completely mirrored sunglass. First, you choose what base tint you want them to turn into, this is how you will see, and you can choose from gray or brown. Next, you choose the mirrored finish you want, which is what others will see when they look at you, which can be: blue, red, green, pink, silver, or gold. We have found matching the underlying tint to the mirror is what helps it really pop when they do transition. For example, pairing the gold style mirror with the brown tint is much more effective than with the gray tint. In contrast, the blue style mirror looks much better with the base gray tint. We have samples of all of these options, so once you select a frame we can hold the different combinations up to find out what works best for your vision and looks best with the frame color chosen.
What are polarized lenses?
Polarization is a filter within a lens that cuts down on the glare bouncing off of horizontal surfaces. Imagine driving on the highway on a sunny day and how the road ahead is washed out and gray rather than the dark black pavement that you know it is. Picture being out on a boat or fishing by a lake and only being able to see the reflection of the sky and clouds off of the surface of the water. Think about how white snow reflects all light and can be blinding when skiing or snowboarding on a sunny day. These are all examples how light reflecting off of surfaces decrease the quality of the vision.
Think of polarization as hundreds of microscopic window blinds running throughout a lens in one direction. When oriented properly, they will eliminate light rays traveling from a specific direction, while allowing all other light rays to enter your eyes unaffected. This results in improved contrast, color perception, and less light sensitivity all without requiring a darker sunglass tint.
Screens also tend to be polarized, which can result in an altered view. If the window blinds of the screen line up perpendicular to the window blinds of the lenses it will block all of the light rays and appear totally dark. By simply tilting your head it allows the light to pass through and regain vision of the screen again. This happens most frequently when you are driving with polarized sunglasses and stop at a gas station and find yourself unable to see the screen at the pump. A little head tilt will do the trick!
Despite all these benefits, polarization does not necessarily provide any additional health benefit. You have to be sure that all your sunglasses lenses block 100% of UV light whether they are polarized or not. When purchasing prescription sunglasses, it is safe to assume that all the lenses will come with this UV protection, but be sure to inquire about polarization. Once you have a pair of polarized sunglasses it is hard to ever go back to normal sunglasses because the vision is just so much sharper and more comfortable.
Expect there to be some limitations with polarized lenses such as being able to choose the darkness, colors, or having a gradient tint. Prescription polarized lenses often already come tinted to a certain degree and will generally be offered in gray or brown solid tint.
Think of polarization as hundreds of microscopic window blinds running throughout a lens in one direction. When oriented properly, they will eliminate light rays traveling from a specific direction, while allowing all other light rays to enter your eyes unaffected. This results in improved contrast, color perception, and less light sensitivity all without requiring a darker sunglass tint.
Screens also tend to be polarized, which can result in an altered view. If the window blinds of the screen line up perpendicular to the window blinds of the lenses it will block all of the light rays and appear totally dark. By simply tilting your head it allows the light to pass through and regain vision of the screen again. This happens most frequently when you are driving with polarized sunglasses and stop at a gas station and find yourself unable to see the screen at the pump. A little head tilt will do the trick!
Despite all these benefits, polarization does not necessarily provide any additional health benefit. You have to be sure that all your sunglasses lenses block 100% of UV light whether they are polarized or not. When purchasing prescription sunglasses, it is safe to assume that all the lenses will come with this UV protection, but be sure to inquire about polarization. Once you have a pair of polarized sunglasses it is hard to ever go back to normal sunglasses because the vision is just so much sharper and more comfortable.
Expect there to be some limitations with polarized lenses such as being able to choose the darkness, colors, or having a gradient tint. Prescription polarized lenses often already come tinted to a certain degree and will generally be offered in gray or brown solid tint.
