Designer Glasses | Eyewear & Lenses | Custom EyeCare Newcastle

Our optical dispensing team are eyewear experts with many years of experience helping people select the right glasses.

You will have access to the latest spectacle lens designs and premium materials to ensure your vision is the best it can be. On display you will find a vast hand-selected range of the latest fashion frames and quality brand sunglasses to ensure you look great in your eyewear. We stock frames to suit all ages and budgets.

Our experienced and qualified optical dispensers will offer you the right advice as they have the freedom to recommend what is best for you. We listen because we care, and we want your eyewear to be tailored to YOU to ensure you see well, and look great!

When buying new prescription glasses, the frame you choose is important for both appearance and comfort, but the lens you choose impacts your vision and safety. There are a lot of options out there for spectacle lenses and below are some lens designs we may prescribe during your consultation.

Single vision lenses

If you have myopia (short-sightedness) or hyperopia (long-sightedness) and you’re under the age of 40, you will most likely need single vision lenses. These are specifically designed to correct one field of vision (near or far) and are the most common and least expensive lens option.

If you are over 40, or have difficulty focusing at different distances, you may need glasses that correct near and distance vision. If this is the case, there are a few options available.

Progressives and Multifocals

Progressive and Multifocal Lenses at Custom Eyecare Newcastle

Multifocal or progressive lenses allow you to see close up and far away with one pair of glasses. The lower area of the lens is for near and reading focus, and the top area is for general and long-distance viewing. There’s a gradual blend between the top and bottom areas, so that you have all focuses in between too. For example, with multifocals you can focus on a computer screen, a book, your phone, a supermarket shelf, as well as talk to people, walk around, drive a car, even fly a plane!

Multifocals are extremely versatile, very popular and often prescribed as a general purpose lens. They are designed to allow you to see clearly at all distances. However for certain tasks they may not be the best choice as they are not designed as “one pair does everything” but rather “one pair that does most things”.

For example if you use dual screens for your computer work, you may find the intermediate zone isn’t wide enough to capture both screens clearly.

Another example is that multifocals give you great reading vision in a natural reading posture where our eyes point down and inwards. Reading in bed can be challenging in a multifocal lens as we are often relaxed, with our head tilted to the side, so both eyes won’t necessarily be pointing down and inwards to the same degree.

Sometimes people think getting multifocals means they have to wear glasses full time, but this is a myth. Multifocals can be worn as much or as little as you like.

A frequently asked question about multifocals is, “are they hard to get used to?”. This probably originates from back in the early years when the available lenses were designed without computer assistance, and the importance of accurate customised facial & frame measurements was not fully appreciated.

At Custom Eyecare we use a professional pupillometer to order multifocals. This equipment is a bit like a pair of binoculars that you look through while your qualified optical dispenser takes pupil position measurements to an accuracy of 0.5mm. This results in multifocals centred on your line of sight, making them easier to wear. It’s vital that the “fitting centre” of the lenses align correctly with the pupil centres of your eyes to ensure you don’t experience blurred vision, clear but narrow zones or unnatural head movements when reading. It’s normal for there to be a little blur on the edges of the peripheral vision, but we find that if the optical centres are measured & manufactured correctly in the first place, adaptation and getting used to multifocals is very straightforward.

Not all multifocal lenses are the same. An analogy we use to explain it is that multifocals are like buying a car: they all drive us from A to B, but the experience and quality of the ride varies a lot between the car models, as does the function of the car. Some people need a small car, a ute, or an SUV to suit their particular needs. Some like a smooth ride in a luxury prestige vehicle, and others just want a car to get them around at the cheapest possible price.

We prescribe multifocals based on your needs, using the latest designs with Australian manufacturing. We intentionally choose to buy Australian made when it comes to spectacle lenses and don’t want to compromise on your vision.

Some people find it difficult to first adjust to Multifocal lenses. Read our tips for Getting Used To Multifocal Lenses. Find out more about multifocal lenses here.

Bifocals

Bifocal Lenses at Custom Eyecare Newcastle.

A bifocal lens has two sections: close-up and long-distance so you can read and drive easily in a bifocal.

Their limitation is there are only two prescriptions so there is no ‘in-between’ for computers and arms length activities. A bifocal has a visible line within the lens which can be a drawback for some people, as the lines can create sudden changes in vision when you move your eye up and down. Bifocal lenses are still prescribed for patients but with the advent of computers and screen based work their use has declined.

Computer glasses

Computer glasses are a variation of multifocal lenses that help to prevent eye strain and headaches for prolonged computer use. Computers are usually positioned in the intermediate (arm’s length) zone of vision, which may not be corrected by single vision lenses. Computer glasses correct near and intermediate distances, with a larger intermediate zone for more comfortable use at the computer. They are excellent for those that spend hours each week in front of a screen, or use dual screens for work. These glasses are generally only suitable for “office work” work and reading, they aren’t recommended for distance tasks or driving.

Lens coatings

Along with the type of lens, there are a number of different coatings available to make your glasses more suitable for specific uses. For instance:

Photochromic glasses or transition glasses darken when they come into contact with UV rays, eliminating the need for sunglasses in most situations. They return to clear when indoors.
Blue blocking coatings, commonly referred to as blue blocker, filter out blue light from screens, and help to minimise eye strain and fatigue from prolonged exposure to computers and phones. Blue blocking coatings,commonly referred to as blue blocker, filter out blue light from screens to assist in ensuring prolonged computer use does not affect your sleep patterns.
Anti-reflective coating reduces reflections off the lens surface and allows more visible light to enter the eye, particularly for driving at night. They also look great so people can see your eyes rather than all the reflections in your lenses.

Why buy your glasses from Custom EyeCare?

At Custom EyeCare, we use quality optical lenses and frames, from a 100% Australian lens laboratory, giving you clearer and more comfortable vision. Read Why Should You Buy Your Glasses From Custom EyeCare and check out some of our prescription glasses frames.

If you’ve previously been disappointed by glasses that were low quality or just didn’t work for you, you’ll be happy to hear that we only use quality optical lenses and frames when making your new glasses. For you, this translates to clearer & more comfortable vision and a happier glasses experience 🙂

Our spectacle lenses are sourced from an Australian lens laboratory, where they are made and checked by Australian technicians. Experience has shown that this is the only way to be sure of quality and accuracy.

We provide full after-sale service, cleaning & adjustments for everything you purchase from us. If you happen to damage or break your glasses, we can usually order spare parts direct from our Australian supplier. This means you don’t have to buy a whole new pair just because one part broke.

To provide you with the best possible pair of glasses, we have access to virtually all types of spectacle lens technology available on the Australian market today:

Thin lenses
Lightweight lenses
Scratch resistant lenses
Impact resistant lenses
Anti-reflective coatings (for more attractive glasses and also great for night driving)
Bifocal lenses
Progressive (multifocal) lenses
Computer/office lenses, including Extended Focus Reading lenses
TV glasses
Driving glasses
Transitions (variable tint) lenses
Polarising (sunglass) lenses (for prescription sunglasses)
Custom tinted lenses (for prescription sunglasses)
Ultraviolet (UV) protection (for protection from the sun’s damaging rays)
…not to mention, a wide range of frames from the inexpensive through to designer label.

View our range of optical frames and sunglasses here

Contact us to arrange a comprehensive eye & vision check, or to enquire about glasses.

Glasses recycling in Newcastle

At Custom Eyecare we are proud to partner with the Lions Club to donate and recycle your glasses.

If you have one or more sets of glasses with an old or out of date prescription that you no longer use, why not consider donating them to be recycled and help another human in need.

Why Donate?

Donating your old glasses rather than simply throwing them out means that they can be passed on to someone less fortunate. The prescription of your old lenses is measured and the glasses are given to someone whose prescription is similar to that of your old glasses. Donating old glasses provides people with the gift of sight.