A Comprehensive Guide to Purchasing Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses

When it comes to choosing the right Zeiss eyeglasses lenses, it can be overwhelming with all the options available. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you navigate through the lens coating, fitting processes, and lens types to find the perfect match for your vision needs. With the help of your optician, you can enjoy natural vision and a custom-made experience that is tailored to your personal prescription. So, let’s dive in and explore the world of Zeiss eyeglasses lenses together.

Reason for Purchase

Recently, I noticed a significant decline in the effectiveness of my eyeglasses. The world appears blurry when looking far or near, and my glasses feel scratchy. I guess it’s due to a change in my vision. Hence, I want to replace them with a new pair.

When my German colleague visited in March, I noticed his glasses were very clear and transparent, especially when looking from the lower side of the half-frame. I thought: I want a pair of glasses like this.

After discussing it with my wife, we embarked on the arduous journey of finding the perfect pair. We went through offline and online shopping, choosing Zeiss, the fitting process, verifying authenticity, and finally settled after more than three weeks. I’m sharing this experience hoping to help others who might need new glasses or cannot find useful information online. Remember, these are personal opinions and should be used for reference only.

What are the requirements for the new glasses?

After an eye examination, it turned out that my vision hasn’t worsened. The issue was with the lens surface being excessively scratched and the yellowish hue caused by the blue-light filter film which made things unclear.

Through this learning experience, I found that it’s crucial to have a pair of high-quality glasses tailored to specific needs. For instance, polarized glasses for driving (especially effective on rainy nights) or photochromic lenses for frequent travelers are very useful. If you’re just looking for a regular pair of glasses from a standard optician, you can stop here. But if you’re seeking high-quality glasses (like a titanium frame from a well-known brand, or the latest Essilor lens), you might find my strategy useful. Combined with your personal network and resources, you might find high-quality glasses at a reasonable price.

My goal this time is to get a titanium frame with Zeiss SmartLife lenses (later switched to Zeiss Progressive Individual 2 lenses), with an acceptable budget of around $300.

The First Dilemma: Offline or Online Shopping?

The more I read, the more confused I became. Both offline and online shopping seemed fraught with pitfalls, and I hesitated to make a move. It felt like I was wading through a river full of unknowns.

Offline shopping offers a plethora of brands, the opportunity to see and try on the actual product, make immediate adjustments, and the joy of bargaining. Regarding the price, it may not necessarily be more expensive than online, provided you do your homework well. Show the shopkeeper screenshots of the same brand and model prices you found, whether they believe it or not. As long as you can get a lower price, your goal is achieved. If you have minor needs later, like changing the nose pads or adjusting the shape, you can directly visit the store, where they’ll help for free. Even if you encounter major quality issues, you can go to the store, where they’ll typically help resolve it patiently.

Online shopping theoretically offers lower prices due to the absence of overhead costs such as storefronts and staff. However, concerns about varying quality and counterfeit products might hold some people back. The inability to try on the glasses before purchase, choosing model, color, and size solely based on online images, and potentially having to return or reorder items can be frustrating. But we shouldn’t dismiss online shopping entirely, as there are plenty of reputable sellers.

My approach was a combination of both

1. I visited several brick-and-mortar stores, observing, asking, and consulting. The only issue was the high prices. Zeiss Eyeglasses lenses generally offered a 6.5-7.5 discount. However, pricier lenses got a higher discount, and cheaper lenses received a lower one.
2. Equipped with the information gathered offline, I turned to online platforms based on recommendations from other users. I inquired about the prices and discounts for similar frames and lenses. I found that the same brand and model were significantly cheaper online. For instance, the Bolon titanium frame was only about $60, and Zeiss’s Progressive Individual 2 series could be discounted to around 30%. This made me reconsider the Zeiss SmartLife lenses.
3. With the online prices in hand, I revisited offline glasses shops. Don’t ask why I chose to go back to physical stores after finding such low prices online, I won’t reveal the reason. Surprisingly, smaller local shops offered discounts and prices that were much cheaper than large stores, and even competitive with online prices. Typical titanium frames could go as low as $30, and the Progressive Individual 2 lenses were also around 30% off. As for the differences among the SmartLife, Progressive Individual 2, and other series, I suggest you look them up yourself.
4. The next step was easy. If you can verify the authenticity, then offline local stores have significant advantages.

Lens Coating

Anti-Blue Light: Lenses with this coating tend to appear slightly yellow. Unless you’re a heavy user of electronic devices, this type of lens may distort the true colors of the world for you. I wanted a pair of glasses that were clear and could accurately reproduce the world’s true colors.

Photochromic Coating: If you often switch between indoor and outdoor environments, this is a good option.

As for other coatings, I personally believe that the most practical ones are those that enhance durability and resist scratches. The usefulness of other types varies from person to person.

Correct Eyeglass Fitting Procedure

Here’s the process using Zeiss’s Progressive Individual 2 lenses as an example. Depending on where you choose your frames and lenses, the fitting procedure might vary. Please use this as a reference.

1. Identify your needs and target price: Have an expectation in mind.
2. Choose the right frame: If you are getting your eye exam and lenses from different places, you need to buy the frames first.
3. Get an eye exam: Take your frame to a store that is capable of performing an eye exam. Zeiss’s Progressive Individual 2 lenses are high-end custom lenses which require additional measurements, like pupil height and inclination angle. Many stores may not have the ability to measure these. Many authorized Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses stores can perform these measurements, but they may refuse to do so if you don’t purchase the lenses there. Good luck finding one. After the exam, you need to adjust the glasses to the right prescription for nearsightedness, astigmatism, etc., and get the adjusted prescription. Some stores may not provide this information, so confirm in advance. Zeiss’s i.Profiler and other models can’t be found in just any store; they are typically only equipped in Zeiss’s strategic stores.
4. Find your preferred glasses store: Choose the lens series, coating needs, refractive index, etc., and negotiate a good discount (goal). Discuss with the shopkeeper (important): request factory processing (I didn’t require this, but later the authenticity verification took two days), ask them to keep the original lens packaging bag, request the lens processing order, ask to enter after-sales warranty on the spot when picking up the glasses, and request no processing fees. The store usually provides a glasses case; you can ignore this if you have your own ideas.
5. Hand over the frame and prescription to the store, pay, and wait.
6. Pick up the glasses: Inspect them and enter the after-sales warranty. It generally takes 3-10 days.

Note: If budget is not a concern for you, consider going directly to an authorized Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses store.

How to Verify Authenticity of Lenses?

Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses’ high-end custom technology has three anti-counterfeit markers:

1. Uppercase Z: Dotted, and some also have 1-3 letters, usually located on the upper sides of the lens. This marker is either dotted or linear. If it’s linear, the color should be uniform and the edges should be clear. If the line surface is uneven, has color differences, or the line edge is rough, it could be fake. If it’s dotted, the dots should be evenly distributed with consistent depth.

2. Custom lenses have a shield symbol containing the word “ZEISS”: In reality, I had two Z markers on my lenses. Zeiss’s customer service said that both forms exist. It’s not necessarily a shield symbol, but if the store requires it, then it will be a shield symbol.

3. The nose side of the lens has the lens model and refractive index: The specific wording can be seen on the Zeiss lens promotional page, and different series with different refractive indices will have different wording.

For specific wording, you can refer to the official promotional page.

Note: Because of the size of the lens after processing, and the orientation, these anti-counterfeit symbols might be polished off and become invisible. If you need to ensure the authenticity and the lenses are not factory processed, you can ask the store to take a video of the unsealing of the lens package to verify the symbols. If the lenses are factory processed and very small after processing, it might be difficult to obtain this evidence.

There are many methods to check the anti-counterfeit markers online, please learn them by yourself:

1. Put a white paper under the lens and shine sunlight directly on the lens surface, there will be a projection of the anti-counterfeit marker on the paper.
2. Look at a light source through the lens, the anti-counterfeit marker can be easily found at the edge of the light source, and you can clearly see whether it is dotted.
3. Anti-counterfeit markers are usually located at the outer upper corner and the nasal side of the lens.

Here are some points collected online

1. Pupil Height: The center point of the lens should align with the height of the eye’s pupil. This depends on the position of the lens in the frame and the position of the frame on the face, so you need to choose the frame before determining the pupil height.
2. Tilt Angle: The angle between the lens and the face, needed for new three-dimensional Bosharp and above. You need to buy the frame first. If you buy Bosharp or higher and don’t measure pupil height and this data before fitting, it seems like a waste of money for the lens. In this case, Zhisharp would be a better choice.
3. Single Vision: Single focus, either nearsighted or farsighted.
4. Progressive: The upper half is for nearsightedness, the lower half for astigmatism. This requires pupil height to keep the pupil at the center height of the lens, otherwise, it will feel uncomfortable afterwards.
5. Half-frame Glasses: If the polishing quality of the lower edge of the lens is very high, it may cause light leakage (bright light visible to the eye), which can be uncomfortable. If you mind, you can tell the manufacturer that the edges need to be rough and not polished.
6. Frame Brand: Depends on personal preference and budget.
7. Refractive Index: The higher the refractive index, the thinner the lens and the higher the price. Generally, for prescriptions lower than 400 degrees, use 1.6 and below. For prescriptions higher than 400 degrees, use 1.67 and above.
8. Abbe Number (Dispersion Coefficient): The higher the Abbe number, the smaller the dispersion, and the clearer the field of view. The higher the refractive index of the lens, the worse the dispersion. Most people can’t tell the difference.
9. Blue Light Block: The lens appears slightly yellow. Those who use electronic products a lot can choose this. Blue light blocking can filter out some blue light. Wearing them will indeed be more comfortable than ordinary glasses, but the effect is limited, and the marketing effect is much greater than the actual effect.
10. Photochromic: Those who spend a lot of time outdoors can choose this.
11. The lens cloth is not for wiping glasses, but for wrapping them. Lens paper is not that expensive.
12. Frame Size Selection: The most suitable formula is (frame width + frame beam width – pupil distance) / 2 < 3. It should not be greater than 5. If you don’t want to calculate, just try them on, and then tell the boss whether they are too big or too small. The general rule is XXXX XX/XX-XXX: model, frame width, bridge width, temple length. If there are more letters or numbers at the end, that might be a more specific model, such as color, etc.

Conclusion

I hope you found this comprehensive guide to purchasing Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses helpful and informative. Choosing the right lenses for your eyeglasses is essential for clarity and vision correction. Thank you for reading, and we look forward to helping you see the world in perfect clarity with Zeiss Eyeglasses Lenses.