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A standard lens blank is 75mm (of which 65mm is useable).
You'd have to have rather large frames to need a larger blank.
The cut blank has a tendency to bow the frames.
I once had lenses made wrong. (The blanks had been set in the cutter wrong) PD was way off.
Most comfortable pair of lenses I've owned.
Of course the next optometrist picked up on it and even got a second opinion.
(I haven't had an optometrist check my current lenses for a while)
Took almost a month for my eyes to get used to correctly made glasses.
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I chose to get the old style (you can see a line between each section of the lenses) bifocals at Cosco because the optician told me that their field of view is wider than progressive lenses. I have been happy with them.
I know, it makes me look like an old-timer, but I don't care that much - they kind of go with my white socks.
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[quote AlphaDog]...
The frame selection: It's quite limited. I wanted new ones of the same quality as the old ones, which held up exceptionally well for a long time. The optician told me they did not carry frames comparable in quality to the ones I had. By the time she showed me the best of their group, the selection got really, really small, and I wound up buying something that I don't much like.
...
The trick with Costco frame selection is that it changes everyday. I got my prescription from the doctor that has been doing the job for 20 some odd years; it took me three trips to Costco before I found some frames I liked. I learned my lesson when I tried on a pair of frames and asked if they had a larger set. "What you see is what we've got" was the reply...
I use the Marchon Flexon frames because I like the spring titanium legs and nose bridge that always return to their original shape, I can be rough on frames...
My doc's shop and a Pearl Vision quoted me $550-575 for Flexon frames, progressive readers, and anit-glare coating; Costco's price was $275.
Agreed, the staff fitting the frames may not be as good, but it worked out for me.
=wr=
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> As an aside note, LensCrafters gives a flat 30% discount with your AAA membership card...
That's where I go.
I move a lot and I've tried lots of different places -- their discount is the best, their selection is very good and they usually have an eye doctor in an adjacent office who has to take the AAA discount and keep "mall hours" because of his affiliation so the exam is cheap and convenient.
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[quote MacMagus]> As an aside note, LensCrafters gives a flat 30% discount with your AAA membership card...
That's where I go.
I move a lot and I've tried lots of different places -- their discount is the best, their selection is very good and they usually have an eye doctor in an adjacent office who has to take the AAA discount and keep "mall hours" because of his affiliation so the exam is cheap and convenient.
When someone mentioned the AAA discount, I was reminded of a thing I'd gotten from my health insurance provider. I rummaged through my file and found it, and it's good for a 35% discount for new frames and lenses at several local opticians, including both LensCrafters and the independent place I'd been going to for years. The discount is 20% for new lenses only, but that's better than nothing.
I think I'm going to see if Costco will let me use these new frames for single vision lenses just for the computer, and then I'll go somewhere else for the progressives. I've been wanting a special pair to use at the computer anyway, because I never have been able to get my 20" iMac positioned so that it's comfortable to use. It hasn't been turned on in weeks, which is a shame.
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I have had Costco Glasses for years.... Varilux progressive from Costco maybe
the others now... not sure.
1 point I would make is because I am really hard on my glasses I have gone ahead and
made sure i have at least 2 pair around, that way if my favo pair is broken or lost I have a back up.
I am going to print this thread and give it to Costco Optical.... maybe they will respond
in a favorable way
Rudie *(:>*
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I need new progressive eye glasses as well. Last year when I was in a car wreck, I went to For Eyes because they could have them made in a few days. I got some special where some frames were $99.00 plus the cost of the lenses. I did get some sort of scratch protector coating. This was my first pair of progressives.
I don't know if it is the nature of progressives , bad glasses, or me, but -I have never had comfortable vision with these. It is very hard for me to see edges of stairs, and unless an escalator is marked with yellow and very slow, I can't see where one step begins and anothe ends. I am always taking them off at the computer.
The current glasses arms have plastic over the ears, and they have broken.
I need new glasses, but don't know where to start. I may need a doctor's exam. I may try Lenscrafters. I don't have eye insurance. I get a Kaiser supposed discount at some places.
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[quote decocritter]It is very hard for me to see edges of stairs, and unless an escalator is marked with yellow and very slow, I can't see where one step begins and another ends.
The problems I'm having with these are not quite that severe, but I did notice I'm having to be very careful around the stairs because of distortions. I never experienced any problems with the Varilux lenses I've been wearing. I'm not insisting that Varilux is the be all and end all for progressive lenses, but it became very clear to me very fast that there's most definitely a difference among the various kinds, and I was oblivious to it until experiencing it for myself. I'm sure the type of correction needed by different people also plays a major role in which progressives work best. I'm very farsighted and also have pretty bad astigmatism, which is why I also have to have high index.
I do wish my local Costco had choices besides the Ovation, but the optician was very clear. When I told her how happy I'd been with the Varilux, which are manufactured by Essilor, the same company as the Ovation, she said they weren't an option that could even be special ordered by them. After noting that some people have gotten Varilux lenses from Costco, I'm beginning to wonder if the type of lenses they carry are like many other things in their stores - the choice is limited to the current best buy.
decocritter, when you go in for new glasses, be sure you' go someplace where they can provide a choice of progressive lenses. They are absolutely wonderful if you get some that are right for you. Otherwise they're the pits.
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Also remember if the galsses do not work for you take them back...
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Decocritter- the 'down in front' troubles can be true of bi-focals, too.
The lens section for seeing close is fixed focus. The area at your feet is out of range.
If you're looking through the reading glass section of lens to see down in front of you at three feet it will be blurry. Most likely worse than no glasses at all.
.
If you are taking your glasses off to 'see' a computer screen you might be better served to have progresives or bi-focals with a focal distance for further away (about 20" for computer screen) and have seperate reading glasses. (cheap if you can use non-prescription)
Reading glass focal distance is (IIRC) about 14".
I went with the computer screen focal distance because it would minimize how often I switched glasses (actually I can still read fine without reading glasses, but I shouldn't).
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