iSUNGLASSES > ORDERING PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES

ABOUT PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES

In a world where it's possible to buy prescription lenses or get laser surgery to correct vision problems, it's pretty impressive that so many people still prefer corrective lenses in glasses in order to see better.

Vision-correcting glasses have been around since the late Middle Ages. In fact, they'd already been around hundreds of years when American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin patented the first bifocals in the 1700s.

Now, designer eyewear is one of the most popular fashion accessories available on the market. Designers from Prada to Versace to Marc Jacobs release new eyewear twice a year with their clothing collections, creating frames that complement their apparel designs. From elaborate filigree arm-bars to real gemstone and crystal accents, glasses and sunglasses frames are even more popular as a fashion accessory than shoes.

FRAME MATERIALS

The first frames for eyeglasses were carved out of wood, bone, and other natural materials. Nowadays, sophisticated manufacturing technology and engineering make it possible to create eyewear out of plastic resins, precious metals such as silver and gold, technologically advanced metal alloys, such as titanium, that reduce weight—even bamboo and leather. You can buy frames that bend and frames that float.

The materials used for lenses are probably even more diverse, with various minerals being melted and polished to create the base material, and various chemical coatings being applied to create different effects for the wearer.

However, some people may find they have allergies to materials used to create eyeglasses.