This seems like a solution looking for a problem.
Take an eye Doc's prescription to any eyeglass place and they'll happily make you whatever you want.
Just had the annual eye exam today. Told the Doc I wasn't switching glasses pairs like I thought I would and was going for progressives this year.
He suggested we go with the new high quality lens cutting process that results in a larger mid-range area in the "hourglass" at the center.
Also got the usual Transitions in the extra active variety and apparently they've made those even better since last year also.
Never had any signs of any significant higher order issues in the optics, so no need to go do a wavefront/free form lenses but man those sound fascinating once they eventually come down in price. Very cool tech. Machine measures every bump and curve of your eyeball and spits out a prescription, similar to the mapping tech used for laser corrective surgeries but applied to making standard eyeglass lenses. No more "which looks better, one... or two?"
By the way, Luxottica bought out Ray Ban and Oakley. (And damn near everyone else.) Neither is the same company you once knew.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
We always buy one pair from the eye doc since he's a family friend, but he's totally stuck in the Luxottica mess. Whatever the frames were that I picked out this year actually say, "made in Italy" on them.
Sometimes if I need another pair for something special I'll order through him, or I'll put the Costco membership to good use, depending on how flush with cash I feel that minute. I like supporting the Doc and his family but he's usually about twice the price. All I can hope is that most of that goes in his pocket.
He also has an impressive retinal scanner. Most insurance won't pay for it, so he has to tack on $37 if you want it and he recommends it for first timers to his office or anytime he sees something odd, or you can just do it every time, as I do. He was able to show me today's shots side by side with the shots when he first got the machine four years ago on the monitor in his exam room. Could also tell the technology has gotten better since then, with better resolution and sharpness. Perfect view of every blood vessel and all of the inner workings of the eyeball. Thing uses a multifaceted mirror spinning at 30,000 RPM (sounds like a turbine winding up when they turn it on) to scan most of the inside of the eyeball in .25 seconds. Wicked cool tech.
I have an interesting feature in both eyes. There's a "sheen" around my optic nerve. This is something usually only seen in young eyeballs. Teenagers. He says it's remarkable I have them in both eyes over 40.
I just joke with him, "Eyeballs are great, Doc. It's the rest of me that is falling apart!"
He also does something many many former eye Doc's have never done for me and I love it. Every exam room has a drawer with a full set of lenses and an old style multi lens frame so when he is sure he's got it right, he'll take a minute to assemble a "pair of glasses" in your prescription and put them on your face. You can tell for sure that he got it right before you leave the office.
Nothing better than a good eye Doc.
