Can I get 'reactolite' colouring added?

soolin

I'm finally taking the plunge and ordering some varifocals from Glasses direct and due to the costs involved I wondered if I could buy them with clear lenses and then have reactolite colouring added once I am happy with the glasses. They are going to cost me around £170 with reactolites and £120 without and i am just looking for ways to save money if I really can't get on with them.

Enterprise_1701C

I don't know for sure but I think it is a bit more than a coating - mainly because I ordered some Varifocals from Specsavers (my first pair of varifocals - wanted to make sure I got it right so they could be measured for online!) and I could not get them thinned down and reactolite - chose reactolite as I am a cyclist.

If it was a coating you would be able to get any lens coated I would have thought.

Bit of a pain in the pocket though - they are costing me £194!

soolin

Thanks for that, I did rather suspect that it was going to be more than a quick 'tint'. I'll have another rethink.

The annoying thing is that I have a very good pair of brand new varifocals sitting on the desk of my optician. Unfortunately the poor man died a few weeks ago and as he was a sole trader the shop has closed and no one is going to reopen it, hence the need for a replacement pair.

nedmundo

Definitely not - I'm afraid it's a surface treatment applied before a hardcoat.

Incidently, if you are unsure as to whether you will be satisfied with them, shouldn't you buy from somewhere face to face?

Horace

Also with reactolites, if you have a strong prescription and larger lenses you will find that the lenses only go dark around the edges and not in the middle. Hence the need to buy as small a frame as possible to accommodate smaller lenses. Better to go to a shop methinks and see someone face to face as opposed to buying an unknown pair off the internet.

soolin

It is rather complicated and I've tried the High street with very poor success. D and A were useless, couldn't make up a prescription at all and just kept saying it was complicated and it often took several attempts to get it right (?). I then went to another one (I can't recall if it was Optical or Vision express ) but they made them up wrong three times and then said they wouldn't remake them even though they admitted they had got the base the wrong way round as I could learn to live with it! I had to threaten small claims to get that money back.

Several years back I started using a sole trader, his glasses were made abroad and were perfect, trouble is he died and no one can release his records and all I have is a current prescription (which is not the one I test to ) that no one can read. Glasses Direct say they can read it and check it against a pair with the same lenses that are broken, hence me going there. I would have been happy to continue going to this sole trader even though I was paying around £400 a pair, but having got so stuck with no legible prescription etc I am not going to risk another sole trader. I already have a pair of varifocals made by a Hong Kong retailer that were better than anything that I could get from a chain so thought it was worth a try.

My only other thought was to try specsavers, they used to be able to make my prescription, I only stopped going there about 12 years ago because of their hard sell on all the extras and the fact they don't like me wearing rimless. It would eman a new test as they are one of the ones who say they can't read my current prescription and as I don't test to the ones I wear I would have to repace my rimless, my driving sunglasses and the 'spare' pair in sold frames which probably means around £800 in total.

Enterprise_1701C

You can get a free eye test off D and A - they have to give you a copy of the prescription and if they pressure you to choose just say that you prefer to have a friend with you. They cannot refuse to give you a copy of your prescription. Maybe it would simplify things if you would have an up-to-date prescription. http://www.danda.co.uk/iptms1-fet-50-off/

soolin

I have an up to date prescription , it was done in march 2009. Ihave also had previous eye tests with D and A where I have been retested on two or three different occasions by their different locums and all have disagreed with my prescriptions even though all were done within a month of each other. D and A have also been unable to make up my prescription as they say it is difficult and is not always perfect on the first few attempts.

Enterprise_1701C

I was just thinking it might be handy to have s prescription that other opticians can read.

It sounds like you might be best off going straight for the reactolite cos separate sunglasses might be a bit pricey for you! Also slightly annoying, I previously had separate sunglasses and it drove me up the wall!

Good luck getting this sorted!