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Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

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Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#51

Get laser eye surgery. No touch no pain procedure once, under 30 seconds in duration which will permanently improve your life. One eye for 400 eur.

Can I ask where it's so cheap? In Austria it's 2000/eye.

Granted, my eyes are the one place where I'm the least likely to penny pinch so I'm definitely not gonna choose a place based on cost alone.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#52
post #3

This is another. Haven't tested myself, yet, not am planning to. https://www.charlietemple.com/

I've ordered a couple from here and they're decent! Make sure you get the slightly better lenses, the cheapest ones are very reflective which is annoying.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#53

Get laser eye surgery. No touch no pain procedure once, under 30 seconds in duration which will permanently improve your life. One eye for 400 eur.

I’ve gotten the same advice multiple times (short sighted, ~ -5 each), but I’ve resisted for a simple (stupid?) reason: I can take a very brief break from anything and everything simply by taking my glasses off. Bonus points, reality becomes acutely Impressionistic.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#54

What constitutes good quality glasses? Or rather: good quality lenses? The frames are mostly a matter of taste, but for the optical component, is a €150 piece of glass significantly better than a €100 piece of glass? Who has the lead in material science here? Japan, Germany? Any good sources on that topic?

More expensive lenses get you: * A material with a higher refractive index (-> thinner glasses) and higher Abbe number (-> less dispersion). Scroll down to the "Optical Glass Selection" in this article for a diagram: https://www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center/application-no... - the stronger the prescription, the more it matters, but generally the step up from the cheapest material is much more significant than fr…

Is this your field or you just became a bit of an expert through frustration?

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#55

I've been to Lunettes pour Tous stores https://lunettespourtous.com/ in the past. It felt revolutionary, because you could walk in, get an eye test, and have your glasses made within 30 minutes at the same store, at a very reasonable price. It looks like they deliver as well. Hard to describe their price range as they have a million options you can pick as part of the ordering process - easy to end up with something…

I second this recommendation for lunettes pour tous!

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#56

Ace & Tate Beloved by hipsters all over Europe Free eye test, glasses around £100 a pair I personally love the clip on shades which have made summer actually enjoyable

I will second Ace & Tate. I have three pairs, two of which have a clip on. Very happy customer.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#57
When it comes to frames, you can buy cheaper frames if you don't care about the brand and put whatever lenses you want in them, but you don't want to use cheap lenses, as those don't offer fantastic visual clarity and could even damage your eyesight if not properly fitted.

Some of the online shops that offer cheap lenses, like Zenni won't really be as good quality as some Zeiss ones. It's about a lot more than just the blue filter and how thin they are.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#58

What constitutes good quality glasses? Or rather: good quality lenses? The frames are mostly a matter of taste, but for the optical component, is a €150 piece of glass significantly better than a €100 piece of glass? Who has the lead in material science here? Japan, Germany? Any good sources on that topic?

After going to an expensive opticians for a good few years, I thought I'd get a "fun" second pair of glasses at one of the new optician chains, Ace & Tate. When they arrived the lenses were rubbish quality - I hadn't realised how lucky I was to have used a really good optician from the get-go. When I went back to him, tail between my legs, he explained a lot of what a sibling comment says about lightness, refractive index etc. I have Zeiss lenses in my glasses - if you can afford good lenses, they're absolutely worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#59

Get laser eye surgery. No touch no pain procedure once, under 30 seconds in duration which will permanently improve your life. One eye for 400 eur.

Can I ask where it's so cheap? In Austria it's 2000/eye. Granted, my eyes are the one place where I'm the least likely to penny pinch so I'm definitely not gonna choose a place based on cost alone.

It can be that cheap, or same order of magnitude, if you have a good complementary health insurance. I got mine done for 1500 per eye, reimbursed 600 per eye, but you can probably find cheaper

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#60

Get laser eye surgery. No touch no pain procedure once, under 30 seconds in duration which will permanently improve your life. One eye for 400 eur.

I’ve gotten the same advice multiple times (short sighted, ~ -5 each), but I’ve resisted for a simple (stupid?) reason: I can take a very brief break from anything and everything simply by taking my glasses off. Bonus points, reality becomes acutely Impressionistic.

You can still take breaks afterward, I promise !

Bonus point, if you're into sports, it's really a great change for ball games and skiing.

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