Optical

We are now equipped with one of only 6 installed TrueSight Optical Dispensing Towers in New Zealand, and the only one in the South Island! So why are we so excited and what exactly does the TrueSight Tower do? It’s an amazing piece of technology that helps you choose your frames and lenses. Furthermore, it provides us with exact data to manufacture and dispense the best possible glasses personalised, just for you. So what exactly does it do? continue

Here are some of the new Lindberg Acetanium frames that were introduced just in September this year at the International Optical Fashion Fair SILMO in Paris. They are now available in the shop and we challenge anyone to find nicer, lighter and more comfortable plastic frames than these Acetaniums. The material Acetanium combines the lightness and comfort of the Lindberg titanium frames, with the creative and modern look of retro plastic frames. All Acetanium frames feature adjustable  nose pad arms which are fitted with small cushions made from medical silicon. ... read more

Last night, while cruising the net I came across a really neat gadget  for DIY sight tests. The gadget hasn’t got a name yet, nor is it avalable for purchase yet. So what exactly is this little beauty all about? In essence it is a small and very simple plastic attachment for your mobile phone, with which, provided you have the appropriate software, you could perform a simple sight test to estimate your visual acuity and the resulting estimated refractive error of your eye. The good news is that the gadget costs less than US$2 and could be usefull in remote parts of underdeveloped countries where sophisticated equipment for comprehensive eye examinations is just not available. The bad news is, that it is not a substitute for the traditional compehensive eye examination since it is designed to do only one small and simple task – estimating a refractive error based on the user’s information input. Eye conditions other than myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia cannot be detected. ... read more

After having been away from the practice for the last few weeks, it is nice to be back in Motueka. Having said that, I am not sure if I like the current weather so much. You see I spent the last 2 weeks in a coutry where the average temperature was around 30 degrees. Coming back to Motueka and arriving here in the shop at 7 degrees and looking very grey and miserable …… it certainly takes a little bit of getting used to. On the bright side, we received some really nice and colourful glasses from Ronit Furst while I was away. Ronit is an Israeli artist and has been making hand painted eyewear for a number of years now. You don’t see them very often, and if so, it is usually only in a few of the very top end optical shops in New York, Paris, Sydney and the like. ... read more

This is not a joke, “Ad Specs – The Self Adjustable Spectacles” are being marketed for developing countries by the Centre for Vision in the Developing World and Global Vision 2020. So what is so special about these glasses? They allow the user to correct their own vision. How? ... read more

Two questions we get asked quite often. Unfortunately there are no easy answers, in particular to the first part of the question. So why is this? Well, it’s a bit like asking “how much is a car and why are some more expensive than others?”. Even that question cannot be answered easily, because let’s face it, all cars, will get you from A to B, eventually, but some will do it more reliably than others, or in more comfort than others, or faster than others, or more economically than others. The list goes on. It’s a bit like that for progressive lenses as well. ... read more

As mentioned in an earlier post, Kodak have introduced a new progressive lens with “Anti Fatigue Technology”. Claudia and I were invited to attend a seminar where the philosophy and manufacturing process of this new approach to “anti-fatigue” progressive lens design was explained. For us as practicioners it is very important that we stay on top of technological developments not only on frame design, but in also on lens design. This is particularly true for progressive addition lenses (PAL) because the manufacturing technology for these kind of lenses seems to be developing incredibly fast. ... read more