SunGlass Information
Archive for June, 2009
The Differences Between Designer Sunglasses
Most people think there’s a whole lot of difference between the various brands of designer sunglasses, after all, some designer sunglasses cost $500, while others cost $50. The truth is, the difference between most designer sunglasses is the same as the difference between designer fashions. The extra cost all comes from the name. The top brands of designer sunglasses cost the most, but in truth, the specifications on those sunglasses aren’t all that different from other designer brands. Both offer protection from the sun’s harmful rays, look stylish, and allow for better clarity of vision outdoors. There’s no real difference between brands like Coyote and Oakley, other than the price. Don’t spend a fortune on expensive designer sunglasses, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Unlike designer clothing, there’s not even a real method to tell designer sunglasses apart from each other.
Find the sunglasses that are right for you and look great, that way, you can worry about deciding between the $60 and $70 model, rather than the $400 and $500 model.
A girlfriend of mine always wears Gucci or Prada Sunglasses and I thought they looked hot but when I tried to get some I found that I had two choices either pay a fortune or buy cheap knock offs. I really couldn’t afford the real thing but the knock offs didn’t offer UV protection. So I started looking for glasses that looked stylish, offered the protection I need and were affordable.
As I searched the internet I found quality sunglasses at a fraction of the price of the top designer brands. Some of them only make glasses for women!
Teaching your children to wear sunglasses may be more important than giving them a college fund.
All children should be taught to wear sunglasses, especially between 10 AM and 2 PM, when ultraviolet exposure is the most dangerous. This is true even for children with darker eye colors, even though their darker pigments afford partial protection. Of course, children with light-colored eyes need sunglasses all the more. Ultraviolet exposure is at its peak when children are at high altitudes, snow-covered landscapes, bright sandy beaches, or near reflective bodies of water.
Most people wear sunglasses to reduce glare. This is trivial compared to the long-term protection they afford for the precious ability to see. Parents can set a good example for their children by wearing sunglasses at the appropriate times.
All sunglasses are not the same. Effective sunglassesshould block both UVA and UVB radiation. Large lenses that fit close to the eyes are best. Those that block visible blue light are even safer. Thankfully, all sunglasses block UVB radiation. A great many sunglasses, however, do not afford UVA protection. Expensive brand names and polarizing lenses are no guarantee. The sunglasses must be measured to block 99% to 100% of UVA or UV400 (400 nm is the wavelength of UVA radiation).
Ordinary sunglasses make the situation WORSE! The dark lenses cause the pupils to dilate, allowing more of the dangerous UVA radiation to damage the lens and the retina.
Of course, children will break and lose sunglasses with remarkable rapidity. Thankfully, suitable sunglasses are quite cheap. I bought another pair yesterday for under five dollars that blocked blue light and had 100% UV400 protection.
Expensive brands may be more stylish, but they confer no advantage when it comes to eye health.
Courtesy WebMD.com
Actually you have three choices when it comes to lens composition: Glass, Plastic or Polycarbonate. All have advantages and disadvantages we will discuss each so you can determine which is best for you.
Glass lenses provide the best scratch resistance and highest optical clarity. They are, however, 2-3 times as heavy as plastic or polycarbonate lenses and, while they are tempered for impact resistance, can shatter or break if struck by an object. These types of lenses are suitable for people who value durability and clarity but are not great for people involved in high speed sports or activities where something could strike your lenses or face.
Plastic lenses are significantly lighter than glass lenses, and thus, may be more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Also, while not shatterproof, these lenses are also more shatter resistant than glass. Disadvantages include average optical clarity and less scratch resistance. These types of lenses are great for customers looking for a lightweight, affordable pair of sunglasses.
Polycarbonate lenses are shatterproof and extremely lightweight. Their primary drawback is that the material is very soft and is the least scratch resistant material used. These lenses are great for active people involved in sports. Because they are lightweight they will stay put when moving around. The shatterproof lenses will also provide protection from not only UV rays, but also impact from objects or in case of an accident or a fall.
Better frames (often called Hand-Made Frames) are made from Cellulose Acetate or Zyl, as it is often called. This is the material the optical world recognizes as the finest and over 90% of it is produced in Italy by a company named Mazzuchelli or by its sister company in Hong Kong. Cellulose Acetate is derived from natural cotton and wood fibers and is subjected to a process of steaming, coloring, molding and cutting to achieve the necessary characteristics: translucency, shine, fluidity, subtlety and rich color patterns. Cellulose Acetate is used to make colors as simple as black or tortoise shell in hundreds of variations, to special colors like Lipstick Red, Lime Green or colors that change depending on the angle you see them from, and everything in between.
A Zyl frame is composed of two main parts: the front and the temples. The two parts are made separately and then assembled after each part has been completed and inspected. Creating an optical quality frame is a labor-intensive process that can be carried out only by highly trained technicians aided by technologically advanced equipment. Optical quality frames can be used for either sunglasses or fitted with prescription lenses. They are perfectly symmetrical and will not distort vision when fitted with ophthalmic lenses.
When Italian materials are used in designer frames it is made by pouring liquefied Cellulose Acetate, in colors chosen and mixed into large molds where they cool and then harden. More complex colorations are produced somewhat like a sandwich: several colors, in separate layers, and permanently bonded together. Some special colors are made up of up to 4 separate and distinct color layers. The possible color combinations of these “laminates” are endless. As the precess of making the glasses proceeds, the material is skived, or shaved away, exposing these different layers and creating stunning visual effects.
The frames are then “tumbled” with teakwood chips for as long as a week to make them smooth. The frame is then hand polished using a wax and emollient shining cream then buffed to a high luster.
A good designer spends a great amount of time designing temples that are comfortable to wear and that blend seamlessly with the front., while imparting a special flair to the glasses. Depending on the particular style, you will notice many different shapes and sizes of temples in different collection. The handmade process on the temples is as painstaking as that of the fronts because the temples are specially color designed to match he patterns on the front.
Nickel Silver wire temple cores and barrel hinges are inserted into the polished temples using an ultrasonic machine that shoots them into the temple at the proper angle. The wire core can be adjusted by you, or an optician, to comfortably fit each individual customer.
In this two-part Blog, I will discuss the three main ways that non-metal sunglass frames are made. In this part I will discuss the first two types Injection Molding and Advanced Materials. In the next part will be devoted to explaining Hand-Made frames.
The least expensive method is made by Injecting a mold created from aluminum or highly polished stainless steel with liquid plastic. This material is petroleum-based products that begins in bead form. To add color, they are spray-painted and then glass coated and tumbled for shine.
Recently materials like Grilamid TR-90 have been developed to answer the need for lightweight and durable frames that offer optical quality not typically associated with typical injection plastics. This new technology has made it possible to make great looking frames that can, in many cases accommodate prescription lenses. A new material, Grilamid TR-90, is a Swiss Nylon Polymer that is melted and then poured into optical quality stainless steel molds. fronts and temples are produced separately. Once removed from the molds, they are hand polished and assembled before the lenses are fitted. The temple tips and nose pieces of many Grilamid TR-90 frames are made from optical grade rubber to add comfort and prevent slippage during strenuous activity. The end result is a frame that is lightweight, yet extremely durable and flexible.
While sunglasses from brands like Oakley and Maui Jim are supposed to be all the rage amongst sports professionals, for the average person, spending $200-300 on sunglasses doesn’t make a lot of sense. In addition, other than the brand name, designer sunglasses aren’t much different in terms of style from most other sunglasses. The real difference between designer sunglasses and other brands is guaranteed UVB and UVA protection. Designer sunglasses provide superior protection from the sun’s harmful rays, which can damage eyesight. But there’s no need to spend an arm and a leg on brands like Oakley or Maui Jim when there’s much more affordable sunglasses from Ocean Waves. In fact, Ocean Waves sunglasses are almost identical when compared to Oakley or Maui Jim in terms of style and protection from the sun’s rays. The only difference is the price.
Ocean Waves sunglasses are preferred by real professionals like lifeguards, sailors, and Coast Guard personnel. Ocean Waves sunglasses are tried and tested by these real professionals, who utilize the sunglasses to provide protection for their eyes and provide better clarity.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 60. It occurs when the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula, deteriorates. The retina is the light-sensing nerve tissue at the back of the eye. Because the disease develops as a person ages, it is often referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Although macular degeneration is almost never a blinding condition, it can be a source of significant visual disability.
There are two main types of age-related macular degeneration:
- Dry form. The “dry” form of macular degeneration is characterized by the presence of yellow deposits, called drusen, in the macula. In general, drusen do not cause changes in vision; however, as they grow in size and increase in number, they may lead to a dimming or distortion of vision that people find most noticeable when they read. In more advanced stages of dry macular degeneration, there is also a thinning of the light-sensitive layer of cells in the macula leading to atrophy, or tissue death. In the atrophic form of dry macular degeneration, patients may have blind spots in the center of their vision. In the advanced stages, patients lose central vision.
- Wet form. The “wet” form of macular degeneration is characterized by the growth of abnormal blood vessels from the choroid underneath the macula. This is called choroidal neovascularization. These blood vessels leak blood and fluid into the retina, causing distortion of vision that makes straight lines look wavy, as well as blind spots and loss of central vision. These abnormal blood vessels eventually scar, leading to permanent loss of central vision.
Most patients with macular degeneration have the dry form of the disease and will not lose central vision. However, the dry form of macular degeneration can lead to the wet form. Although only about 10% of people with macular degeneration develop the wet form, they make up the majority of those who experience serious vision loss from the disease.
It is very important for people with macular degeneration to monitor their eyesight carefully and see their eye doctor on a regular basis. An remember, use of sunglasses with good UV protection can reduce the suns damage.
source: WebMD.com
The Age of Polarization
While strolling down Broadway in 1926, Edwin Herbert Land was blinded by the headlights of an oncoming automobile. It occurred to him that there must be away to develop a polarizing sheet that would reduce glare from light. He was attending Harvard University as a freshman when he first had his revelation about the polarizing process. He left Harvard and moved to New York, working secretly at night in a laboratory at Columbia University. In 1929 Land returned to Harvard, this time with his wife, Helen. Although Land would never graduate, he had already developed the first synthetic sheet polarizer by trapping tiny crystals in a thin sheet. By 1932 the sheet was actually being produced and would be used to make camera lens filters and polarizing sunglasses that cut glare from the sun. With the backing of Wall Street tycoons James P.Warburg, Averell Harriman (1891-1986) and Lewis Strauss, Land founded the Polaroid Corporation in 1937. One of the company’s first projects was to persuade Detroit’s automobile industry to install polarizing sheets in the headlamps and windshields of all its vehicles. Although Land was never able to sell his ideas to automobile manufacturers, he went on to discover many more uses for his invention.
By the 1940s, the Polaroid Corporation was making its contribution to the United States war effort. Servicemen who fought in World War II reaped the benefits of Land’s inventions that resulted in polarizers for rangefinders and . The development of infrared viewers also aided night vision. By 1945 the Polaroid Corporation received millions of dollars in government contracts to develop military optics, and sales increased from the original $142,000 to $17 million.
When asked what sunglass qualities where important for Bowfishing Robert Grider, O.D. wrote this article that first appeared on Bowhunting.com.
#1 Polarization
Sunglasses must use true polarized lenses to remove the glare which hinders our ability to see into the water. Most polarized sunglasses are marked, if it is not clearly stated then they are probably not polarized. Please realize that like most things in life, there are different qualities of polarization and the more expensive the lenses the more likely they are of higher quality.
#2 Quality Optics
Try to make sure the sunglass lenses optics are of decent quality. I have seen countless cases where people present to my office complaining of headaches only to find that the poor optics of their sunglasses are the source of the problem. To test your glasses you can hold the glasses up several inches from your face while viewing a consistent grid like a sheet of graph paper and by turning the lenses slightly and moving the glasses slowly back and forth and up-down while looking for areas of curved lines and/or distortion of the distant pattern. Please understand that many of today’s wrap-around type of sunglasses will have at least some distortion in the very extreme side or periphery of the lenses this is unavoidable but you would like this to be as minimal as possible.
#3 Lens Tint
I am often asked which color sunglasses work best for bowfishing and to be honest, there is no single best color for every person and every shooting situation. Gray lenses tend to alter the color vision spectrum the least in relation to the human eye and make for a good all-around pair of sunglasses that might be used for other activities as well. (see Selecting the Correct Tint Blog)
#4 Ultra violet ray protection
Make sure the sunglasses you purchase have the ability to absorb 100% of the sun’s harmful ultra violet rays. Remember while on the water you are actually getting a double dose of UV, those rays directly from the sun and those rays that are bouncing off the waters surface. Significant exposure to UV rays has been shown to cause the serious eye damage such as development of cataracts and Age-Related Macular Degeneration which happens to be the leading cause of blindness for those over 65 years old.
#5 Glass or plastic lenses and a word on cost.
In general, plastic lenses (polycarbonate lenses) scratch more easily than glass lenses but they tend to weigh half as much as glass and are much more shatter resistant than glass lenses making them safer if used around flying objects (think snap-back of an arrow). Many plastic lenses will have a scratch resistant coating with the more expensive plastic lenses having a better scratch resistant coating. Both plastic and glass can offer exceptional optics however and when you figure in the safety factor plastic comes out ahead.
When it comes to costs you don’t have to spend $200-$300 for a pair of Maui Jims in order to get a good pair of sunglasses with quality optics. These brands often have a tremendous amount of price mark up and the optics and polarization are pretty much the same in a much less expensive pair of Gargoyles or Coyote Sunglasses. The law of diminishing returns often applies to the price of sunglasses.
And finally, remember that after your bow and arrow, your polarized sunglasses are the next most important piece of gear when it comes to daytime bowfishing, so choose with care.