Do I have genuine Varilux?

Hi,

I just had a new prescription filled about 2 weeks ago, and my new
lenses are supposed to be Varilux Comfort (Comfort II ?). What I was
wearing were varilux comfort about 4 years old, and had a large "sweet
spot", where I could look across my room while looking out towards the
sides or top of the lenses without hardly any degradation.

My new lenses has a very small sweet spot, and the vision is somehat
"wavy" even in the sweet spot, and going out of the sweet spot is
pretty bad.

I found info online on how to read the symbols etched in the lenses,
using a magnifying glass and looking at the lens near a bright lamp,
can make out just one symbol on eah lens an o with the number 22 under
it which I understand is one of the prescription powers. That shows
pretty clear, and nothing else is showing at all, no e symbol or lines
that Varilux uses that I read, nothing else but the o 22.

I was told my subscription didn't change much, but he added a little
more power for close, to read.

What is my best course of action? Do lenses have to aligned in the
frame a certain way, once I got them, the store didn't adjust
anything. I do have anti-glare, and I read somewhere that will make
markings harder to see, but as I said, I can see the o 22 fine, and
according to the examples in the files, it seems that's where many
lens manufacturese put their symbol. Guess my other option may be
taking the glasses to a different retailer and asking what I have, but
will they tell me? Thanks much,

Dan

 

Some designs handle this better than others. Mispositioned lenses (improper
frame and/or measurements along with poor frame fitting) and some Rx changes can
cause this also.

You're looking at the temporal marking. The symbol is below the nasal marking,
34mm from the temporal mark. It may be truncated or missing entirely, due to
decentration. The symbols can be found here.

http://www.variluxusa.com/SiteColle...gMaterials/VariluxCenteringChart-July2010.pdf

A quarter diopter change in Add power won't be too noticeable, but a half should
be obvious, and not always entirely for the best.

The frames must be adjusted before the measurements are taken, and after the
lenses are inserted (during dispense). The fitting cross should be less than ±
2mm horizontal and ±1mm vertical from the center pupil. Vertex distance is also
critical and must be as short as possible. Panto tilt should be at least 8°, the
dihedral (wrap) about 5°. Usable fitting height, material, PAL design etc. can
also influence the outcome. Errors and/or misjudgements in any of the above can
cause asthenopia.

Return to where they were purchased and ask for the most experienced optician.
Explain the problem, with emphasis on "they didn't adjust anything". If they
don't have horrified look on their face followed by apologies and a 30 minute
session (or more) of verifying and fitting, ask for a refund.

Hope this helps,

Robert Martellaro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roberts Optical Ltd.
Wauwatosa, Wi.
www.roberts-optical.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself."
- Richard Feynman

 

Thanks much, I will take them back and ask for proper fitting, but
since I still can't see any markings except o 22 on each lens, I will
take them to another optical place first to see what they can tell
me.

My scrip states +1.25 +2.50 X 90 then second line +1.00 +1.50 X 120,
then add +2.25 and Varilux is written right on the scrip also.

Thanks again.

 

PS I did use the Varilux doc you linked to try to find the rest of the
markings.

 

Thanks,
I took the glasses to Sam's Club (not where I got them), and they
found some of the other markings, and told me they are indeed Varilux
Comfort, but the etching is cut off right there due to the small lens,
and couldn't tell me which model of comfort or who cut the lenses. So
that much is settled, so I'll take them back for the re-adjustments,
as they are re-doing one of the lenses anyways - it was scratched with
the screwdriver when they put it in the frame.

 

What do you mean "who cut the lenses"?

The lens is round (usually about 70-85mm diameter) when the base curve blank
is made by Varilux, and still round when the final grinding takes place for
your specific Rx. Then the person who mounts the lens in your frame must cut
the lens. Since many frames are fairly small these days, the etchings
sometimes get cut off during the final finishing, where they might be
visible in a larger frame where more of the original lens is still present.

 

That's what Sam's Club stated, maybe they said "ground" instead of
cut. The store where I got my glasses told me they use a lab in the
suburbs, or I could have them done by someplace called Crisal(?) for
$50 more, but with the local lab, if I needed to get the anti-glare re-
done, they'll take the old one off and put a new one on for $35, and
Crisal doesn't offer that. My recent lenses have the problem where the
anti-glare (anti-reflective?) layer is all mucked up, and they said I
can send that in if I want. Thanks.

 

Crizal is not a "place" but a kind of anti-reflective coating put on a lens.
It is an Essilor proprietary coating (Essilor owns the Varilux brand) put on
at the authorized Essilor/Varilux lab. Crizal (and other "factory" coatings
by other major optical companies) are MUCH more durable than the ones that
can be removed and recoated by a local optician.

 

Thanks for the clarification Mark.