Lens Materials

Maycock Eyecare offers many different lens materials. The material you choose for your eyeglasses is based on comfort, expectations, durability, weight and safety factors. The knowledgeable staff at Maycock Eyecare can help you with this decision and ensure the eyeglasses you decide on are just right for you.

Glass

Optical quality glass lenses provide the clearest vision because they are ground and polished like a fine camera lens, so the surface of the lenses are free of any imperfections. Optical-quality glass eyeglass lenses are chemically or heat treated to make them impact-resistant. While glass is heavier than plastic, it is more scratch-resistant than plastic.

CR-39

Optical quality plastic, made of hard resin, is considered the best and most common plastic used for eyeglass lenses. It weighs half as much as glass, which means it is not as heavy on the face. It exceeds requirements for impact-resistance because of its molecular structure.

High-Index Lenses

If excessively thick prescription eyeglass lenses have always taken away from the beauty and comfort of your spectacles, you may want to consider a high-index lens material for your next pair. High-index lenses offer superior optics in a thinner, lighter lens than the same prescription made from the conventional plastic material.

Thinner lenses require less lens material, which reduces the overall weight of the lenses. Lenses made of high-index plastic are lighter than the same lenses made in conventional plastic, so they're more comfortable to wear.

High-index glass lenses also have thinner edges, but high-index glass is heavier than conventional glass, so there is not as much weight savings with glass as there is with plastic lenses.

The overwhelming popularity of high-index lenses has led to the development of a variety of high-index materials, which are classified by the material's "index of refraction." For conventional plastic, this "index" is 1.50. For conventional glass, it is 1.52. Any lens material with an index higher than that of glass or plastic is considered to be high index. High-index plastic lenses are now available in a wide variety ranging from 1.56 to 1.74. High-index glass lenses are available as high as 1.90 index.

All other things being equal, a lens made from a 1.66 index material has thinner edges than a lens made from a 1.56 material. Also, generally speaking, the higher the index, the higher the cost. The other controlling factor is the prescription. The highest index materials are used primarily for the strongest prescriptions.

If you want high-index lenses, be sure to ask for them, but you can rely on Maycock Eyecare's staff of opticians to advise you regarding which index to use. We can explain which index makes the most sense for your exact prescription and help you to match that lens with a suitable frame. The most popular lens designs, including single vision lenses, bifocal lenses, progressive lenses, and photochromic lenses, come in high-index materials.

Polycarbonate

Compared to CR-39 and glass, polycarbonate plastic weighs the least and is the most impact-resistant. Polycarbonate is a great choice for those individuals who want really rugged glasses, including people who engage in outdoor activities and fast-action sports. Polycarbonate is widely used, and is considered the second most common optical plastic. One drawback is an increased susceptibility to scratching and abrasion, but with a hard-coat applied its scratch-resistance is similar to that of CR-39.

Please click on the links below for more information on choosing your perfect eyewear at Maycock Eyecare.

FRAME SHAPES - FRAME MATERIALS - WHAT'S NEW?

LENS TYPES - LENS MATERIALS - LENS COATINGS

Please click below on our two main lens suppliers for additional product information.

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