Anti-reflective (AR) coatings are designed to decrease the reflections caused by your lenses. These reflections are most noticeable when you are near bright point sources of lights such as headlights, computers, and camera flashes. Many people prefer AR coatings because they are bothered by lens glare and they feel their vision is crisper with an AR coating.

Our Crizal AR coatings by Essilor not only decrease unwanted glare, but this coating also has a built in UV blocking coat and a stronger scratch coating. We believe if your glasses are worn every day, a high quality AR coating like Crizal will typically last about 2-3 years before it begins to separate from the lens. If your glasses are only worn occasionally, an AR coating may last many years longer. Dry wiping an AR coated lens can quickly ruin the lens and lead to premature flaking of the AR coat. Always wet your lens and then dry them with an appropriate cloth. This will greatly increase the life of your AR coat.

AR coats are always recommended for hi index lenses. Typically, 12% of all light is reflected off a hi index lens. This means hi index lenses have more glare and only 88% of the light from a room actually passes through a hi index lens that does not contain an AR coat.

Be aware, cheaper AR coats (like those sold at many discount opticals) are notorious for flaking off in just a few months. Our Crizal AR coating by Essilor is thought by most in the optical industry to be the strongest and longest lasting of all AR coats.

Ultraviolet (UV) light contributes to cataract formation and retinal damage. A UV blocking coat can decrease the harmful effects caused by ultraviolet light. All the sunglasses we sell have a UV blocking coating already applied to the lens by the frame manufacturer.

If you are replacing the lenses in a pair of sunglasses with plastic prescription tinted lenses or if you choose to purchase a non-sunglass frame and then have the plastic lenses tinted you should also purchase a UV coating for your lenses.

Mid and hi index lenses naturally block UV light so it is not necessary to purchase a UV blocking coat if you are purchasing mid or hi index lenses.

Our on-line lenses come with a free scratch coating. Scratch coatings do not prevent scratches but minimize the severity of scratches. Today’s modern lenses are much lighter and safer than previously manufactured glass lenses, but unfortunately, these lighter weight materials scratch easier.

Most scratch coated lenses that are worn every day will begin to show very subtle defects after 6-12 months. Deeper more noticeable scratches are inevitably noticeable upon close inspection following 2 years of everyday wear. While these larger defects may be noticeable upon close inspection, these scratches are not visible while the glasses are actually being worn. Additionally, the lens scratches found at around 2 years of wear rarely interfere with vision.

Always clean your lenses by wetting them first and drying them with an appropriate cloth. This can greatly lengthen the life of your lenses. Wiping a dry lens off with any cloth is a guaranteed way to quickly scratch the surface of your lens. You can also lessen the severity of lens scratches by always storing your eyeglasses in the provided case.