To: WSFAlist at WSFA.org
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2004 18:48:20 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Good Glasses Cheap
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 08:33:59 -0400 "Madeleine Yeh" <myeh at wap.org> writes:

>
>    Last pair of expensive glasses I bought had plastic
> lenses.  The optician really recommend this over glass as
> a safety issue.  He thought that plastic lenses offer more
> protection and less danger than glass.
>

Opticians do push the plastic lenses over glass, but most of them will
sell glass lenses if the customer wants glass, and will usually charge
the same price for glass.  It is probably true that glass lenses are more
prone to shatter than plastic, but federal law requires each lens sold
for eyeglasses to be shatter tested by dropping a steel ball on the
center of lens.  Only lenses which pass that test may be sold.  So, any
eyeglass lens sold may be presumed to be nominally 'safe'.  Many people
prefer plastic because of the lighter weight; I prefer glass for the
better scratch resistance.  I would be curious to know if the cost of
production for plastic lenses is less than for glass; if so it might
partly explain the opticians' bias towards plastic.

Ron Kean

.

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