Crystal Clear

We just purchased a new sunglasses line from A&A Optical called Jimmy Crystal New York. These sparkling treasures will be a big hit for summer! We are premiering six different styles and would like your feed back. 


If you like a little bling, or fierce jungle cats, then you will adore this line. Actually, you will probably purchase all six! 


Want the skinny on the blingy? Jimmy Crystal New York eyewear is adorned with Swarovski crystal elements. This provides the kind of elegant sparkle to make all of your friends jealous. Every piece  is uniquely designed, and hand set into the frame for quality craftsmanship. This is a true luxurious collection that has deep roots into the fashion industry. The styles will make every woman feel like a star in designs that emulate glamour and class. What is nice about these sunglasses, is they will be a style that you could wear through the years.


So what are you waiting for? Go sparkle up your wardrobe! Put the rawr in your fashion statement!

Let's Get Digital

In this day and age the word digital automatically makes us think elite. The best of the best.

Today, our office got to meet a very knowledged sales representative from one of our labs. He wanted to discuss with us the revolution of wave front technology, otherwise known as digital/free form lenses. This is nothing new to us, but it may be for you.

If you wear a progressive style (no line bifocal) lens and are not a big fan of the distortion that you may see on each side of your lenses, you are in luck. There are many different manufactures who have their own sleek design to free form. Today we learned about Varilux products. Some of you may be used to hearing this brand, since Varilux has been around for quite some time now.

Free form lenses are different from regular progressive styles, because it is made more customized to your Rx. The original progressives are pretty much cookie cutter in the optical world. Think about a hockey puck.. take your new and not to mention fabulous frame that you get here, cut the hockey puck to fit then frame, plop it in and try to find your best Rx through a sweet spot about the size of a spot on your miniature dog.

Digital lenses are made a little differently. They are made froma single vision blank, and they digitally grid the reading power on the back side of the lense with a...wait for it ladies, diamond point cutter. Savvy huh? This process helps make the lenses flow nicely together to create less distortion in your lenses. It also widens the "sweet spot" so you won't have to look like a crazy person moving your head around until you find it.

The good news is these digital lenses are also made for single vision! These are good for anyone who has a higher Rx. If you are used to glasses that make you look like you are wearing coke bottles or shrinking machines, it all changes for good! I have a very high plus Rx. All my life I was used to having lenses that made my eyes look 10 times as big as they actually are. I used to wear only contacts because I did not want to deal with having to look funny. Now that I have tried these lenses, not only do my eyes look normal, but I can see like an angel. I feel like I can see more clear than with my contacts! Not to mention that my eyes don't hurt from always wearing contacts. The single vision digital lense is bi-aspheric, meaning they enhance the performace from both sides of the lens. High Rx have a sweet spot as well. With this lense you can see through the whole lens clearly!

Things really do get better with age...don't they?

Carrera...racing to the finish line of great polarization

As we all know, technology has been advancing before our eyes faster than you can say smart phone. We have seen televisions sets morph from tubular settings to digital, and having your cell phone attached to a bag, to practically not being able to find in your bag.

Carrera sunglasses has come out with a new line of sunglasses called X-Cede that have even more technology than some of the leading polarized sunglasses lines. 

Carrera sunglasses have been around since 1956. The brand was initially made as sports sunglasses. Winter sports were more specialized within the line. Skiing, and ski jumping along side sports goggles and of course, motor racing.


My, how the times have changed! The Carrera X-Cede collection, by Safilo uses a high contrast definition technology to create sun lens color enhancements in a non-film polarizing lens. 


When looking for quality sunglasses, there are two things the lenses should do for you. First, they must enhance and protect vision. Next, they should look good. while being comfortable. The saying that most women say that when your feet hurt from wearing high heels means they look good, does not do the same for glasses! Safilo inspired to design a collection with the goal to exceed both criteria.


I am guessing by now you are pondering what polarization even is, and why it is such a great thing compared to cheapies you purchase at the convenience store. Read on my friend...


The UV light that we are exposed to every day has harmful rays of light that damages the cornea, lens and retina in our eye. As the eye receives light, it naturally opens and closes the iris when it is exposed to a certain amount of light that passes the retina. This can cause the physiological response to squint. Extended periods of squinting can cause significant eyestrain and fatigue. Tinted lenses help filter the amount of light that is transmitted to the eye, but polarized lenses block even more than that. The new X-cde lenses go two steps further by eliminating specific light frequencies, that can blur your vision. With these lenses it will enhance rather than distort. 


Previously, companies would use a premade, embedded, polarizing film that reduces glare. In most of those lenses, the film is curved, bent and stretched to accommodate the size of the frame. All of this bending and curving potenially reduces the efficiency of the lense, creating distortion and warpage. The X-Cede lenses use a non-film polarization, which blows those cheapies out of the water!


But wait...there is more! Compared to other top polarized competitors, Carrera X-Cede lenses are made with trivex lenses compared to polycarbonate. Trivex is a lens material that not only is very impact resistant, but also has an enhanced quality. Anti-reflective treatment is then treated onto the back side of the lens, to block even more light and make your eyes feel great! The nice thing about having the added feature of anti-reflective to the trivex is making it complete. Think about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If it's just the jelly or only the peanut butter, what do you get? A sad sandwich right? Trivex and anti-reflective work like peanut butter and jelly. Separate they are good, but together is the partnership that changes your taste buds life!


Of course I would not leave you empty-handed without pictures! If you would like to see them in person, we are expecting these new styles shortly! I sure can not wait to try them out, and hopefully you feel the same!

Hello Hydration!

Are you feeling a tad dry-eyed lately? Do those clear eyes commercials make you wish there was a better solution for your contacts? No pun intended...

Great news for contact wearers! Acuvue Oasys now has a brand contact lense with hydraclear plus! Of course I will explain what all of these high-tec words mean through my explanation of the product.

These lenses have the highest UV protection than any other contact lenses. It protects up to 96% of UV-A and 100% UV-B rays. This will make your eyes very happy. To make them super happy, don't forget your sun wear! If you want your eyes to be your best friend...get your sun wear polarized!

Raise your hand if you like to breathe! If you raised your hand, which I am guessing you did otherwise you would not be breathing, or reading this...you can understand that your eyes like to breathe too. The silicone hydrogel material provides 98% of available oxygen to the eye! If that was not enough, the plus technology in this lens permanently embeds a higher volume of moisture-rich wetting agent, which results in a more wettable lens. This will provide all day comfort, even in the most challenging environments. Sound like allergies better pack up and go home, because these contacts will boot those itchy, red eyes for good!

If you are wondering how you can get your hands on a lens like this, come see us! We have plenty of lenses in stock for you to try!

French Connection

First of all we would like to say thank you for reading our first blog entry! This is a new thing for us! We are very excited to be able to share with you information about our practice and everything we have to offer to you!

Now you are probably wondering why in the heck our title for this post is called "French Connection". As of yesterday, we welcomed two new frame lines into our optical, Traction and Oxibis. Today we will be focusing on Traction.

Let's take a little history lesson, and no you will not find yourself nodding your head up and down, or drooling a little bit on your school desk. It all started in 1872 by a man named Edouard Gros. Before the glasses weree born, the company first specialized in manufacturing hair ornaments and accessories, which was very fashionable at the time. When short hair became the fashion statement, it was time to re-invent theirselves. In 1930 they started manufacturing eyewear. 50 years later, Thierry Gros took over management of the company. He wanted to add his own personal touch to the line by launching his own eyewear collection in 1989. Traction is the name to reference to "Traction Avenue" in Los Angeles, where the most creative artists gather.

Gros wanted to express an "aesthetic split" within the collection. Just like the well-known fashion designers, he defined important themes each year which he translated into the global style. Due to the interchange between Californian modernity and French refinement, the optical models play with unique materials, shapes and colors that stay very closely to the latest trends, or sometimes are even ahead of them. this cosmopolitan blend not only does well in Europe, but also in the USA and Japan. Each model is started out by being hand drawn, before being made into a 3-dimensional mondel.

The eyewear has been chosen to be manufactured in France to benefit from the expertise of the network of sub-contractors found in the Jura area. Gros hapily claims that it makes the frames "apart from certain pieces".

Congradulations, you made it past the history brief. I bet you are now thinking...show me pictures of this fabulous line! You wish is my command. See below the pictures of the unique line that we are so excited about!

If you love them like we do, come on in and try them on! Then once you have your new fabulous French made frames, enjoy some wine and fromage!