Eyeglasses: The Frame
In addition to the Japanese eyeglass frames that we import ourselves, we carry a number of other great brands of eyeglasses including: Ogi Eyewear, Miraflex, ProDesign Denmark as well as our private label Portland Eyeglasses line. Though any of our frames can also be made into prescription sunglasses, for patients needing high performance, sports-specific sunglasses, we carry Adidas Sunglasses as well as our private label Portland Sunglasses line of sunglasses. We also carry frames for prescription safety glasses for work and prescription goggles for sports. Click on any image below to learn more about their glasses frames. And, don’t forget to return to this page to learn about lens options for your eyeglasses below.
Eyeglasses: The Lenses
We primarily source the lenses for your eyeglasses from independent optical laboratories here in the Northwest. Because these laboratories are independent, we are not tied to one particular type of lens or manufacturer for your eyeglasses, and we can select the one that will work the very best for the way you wear and use your eyeglasses. Because we are lucky to have some of the best ophthalmic lens labs right here in the Northwest, your lenses are made in a world-class facility, but without the wait for them to be shipped to a corporate-affiliated lab across the country or overseas.
There are many different lens designs (progressive lenses, bifocals, trifocals, prescription reading glasses, computer glasses, etc.), manufacturing processes, coatings, and special options for any prescription. Because eyeglasses are something used everyday that affect nearly all other daily activities from study to work to play, it is best to have lenses that are made specifically for you and optimize, not hinder, your visual performance. That said, there is usually a trade-off between price and performance of eyeglasses. We will always explain your options and help you select lenses that will give you the best performance within your budget. While we are happy to discuss your options for eyeglasses anytime you visit our office, we have included some lens selection tips below in case you would like to learn a little more about lens design before your visit.
Digital vs Conventional Lenses for Eyeglasses
Digital eyeglass lenses refer to lenses that are manufactured with sophisticated equipment that allows a computer to optimize the shaping of your lenses to reduce peripheral distortion. Basically, the lens material that is put in your glasses already has a curve on it before your glasses are made. In the old way, the interaction between the curve on the front of the stock lens and your prescription ground into the back of the lens isn’t taken into account. With modern methods, this interaction can be accounted for and your lenses optimized both for this interaction as well as the angles created by how the glasses actually are positioned in front of your eyes.
Materials
The index of a material refers to how much it bends light. A material with a higher index will bend light more, so you can use less of it, and your eyeglasses will be thinner, more comfortable, and better looking with high index lenses. The Abbe number refers to how clearly light is transmitted through the material without getting dispersed, higher Abbe numbers mean clearer. Higher density numbers mean the material is heavier.
Generally, Trivex offers the best combination of thickness, clarity and weight. However, for mild prescriptions, ophthalmic plastic is fine and people with larger prescriptions should use high index materials. All children should be in Polycarbonate or Trivex for safety as these materials are more impact resisistant. Also note that higher index materials reflect more light, so antireflective coatings (see below) are more important with these materials. Below is a list of these values for materials commonly used in lenses for eyeglasses.
- Ophthalmic Plastic 1.49 index, 58 Abbe, 1.3 density, reflectance 4.0%
- Polycarbonate 1.58 index, 30 Abbe, 1.2 density, reflectance 5.2%
- Trivex 1.53 index, 46 Abbe, 1.1 density, reflectance 4.4%
- High Index 1.60 1.60 index, 36 Abbe, 1.3 density, reflectance 5.3%
- High Index 1.67 1.67 index, 32 Abbe, 1.4 density, reflectance 6.3%
- High Index 1.74 1.74 index, 33 Abbe, 1.5 density, reflectance 7.3%
Coatings and Tints
An Anti-reflective coating protects your lenses and eases visual strain from unwanted reflection and glare during activities such as computer use or night driving. They make it feel more natural as you have less of the feeling of something between you and what you are looking at, they also allow people to see your eyes instead of reflections off your eyeglasses. These are especially important when you select a higher index material, because of the increased reflectance as mentioned above. Anti-reflective coatings can be used to produce blue light blocking glasses, something that has become more important with the proliferation of digital devices.
You’ll need a prescription to order glasses from our office, if it’s been a while, click below to: