Eye Care

Hi folks!

I recently bought a nice pair of Anne et Valentin frames in NYC but didn't have the time during my trip to have them finished. These are beautiful frames with simple pop in lenses. I have a pretty light prescription at -1.25 but I have a feeling it'll increase slightly with my next eye exam which I intend to have done before having the lenses done.

Here are my questions:

I'm slightly torn between having my lenses done at a Costco at a lower price or at a independent optical store for the higher quality lens. One store that sells these frames said I'd be fine in a polycarbonate with a anti-glare option. Another said the same but highly suggested the Crizal Avancé lenses. I'm not sure what to do since I have access to both. I'm concerned because the last lenses I had done at the independent store turned out funky (trivex lenses) - with halo's around street lights at night. Those were easily $300 lenses and I don't want to throw my money down the tubes again like that. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

jcepiano,

Good question. If you have a straightforward single vision lens, I think you are going to get a comparable lens at Costco as what you will get from an independent eye doctor.

You can see my review of the Crizal Avance coating. Just to be clear, the Avance is a coating for the lens, not a lens in and of itself. It is a very high quality anti-reflective coating that also is durable, scratch resistant, and easy to clean. I honestly could not tell the difference between my Crizal Avance treated lens and the lens and anti-reflective coating I got from Costco. Either provider will probably give you a standard polycarbonate lens, as I would think you'd have no benefit from a high index lens, and a high index lens may actually worsen some of the halo's and other problems you experienced with the Trivex lens. I'm curious - did you have an anti-reflective coating on your Trivex lens?

One thing I would suggest is that if you go the Costco route, before ordering them, ask what their return policy is if you aren't satisfied. In the past, most items at Costco are able to be returned if not satisfied, and they may provide a similar guarantee with their lenses. If that's the case, you'd definitely have little to lose by going that route.

My Trivex lenses did have an anti-reflective treatment done and only today when I took the time to look at them, they have a green reflection at the right angles with light. Thanks for your input, George! I appreciate it.