The price of spectacles in Britain was again discussed, this time on the TV programme Rip-off Britain. The price of spectacles have been the focus of much attention for some years now with internet availabilty meaning that the prices could easily be substancially lower than the high street while still providing a successful business model. The internet is here to stay as is the supply of spectacles. The high street prices will always be higher, the quality may well be exactly the same, it really comes down to how you want to shop? 

See programe here: http://bbc.in/dFIWPi

We have been providing lenses-only for some time now, so the customer can use their own frame new or old and have it glazed/reglazed. Our prices like most internet stores is around 1/2 to 1/3 of the equivalent on the high street.

We try very hard here at ciliaryblue not to let the fact that we are internet based affect our customer service in any way. The fact that we are remote to most of our customers, means that the communication lines we use have to be even more stringent. We try not to miss any phone calls, those we do, that don’t leave a message we ring back. We try to reply to all our emails within 30 minutes,  answering emails from 7.30 am until 10.30 pm including weekends. When we can’t email or leave a message we will send a text message instead.

We use a P.O Box address because we have more than one lab address and not all the post goes to the same one.  Our base is now in Market Bosworth and the land line number there is 01455 293417, this is run by Chris my Operations Manager, he has many years of glazing experience and knows the industry inside-out. Feel free to ring him for advice or help with ordering.

Email address info@ciliaryblue.com

Feedback is always useful and we often make changes to the way we operate and to the website based on the feedback of individuals, so thank you to all those who make the effort.

Phil (Owner-Optician)

When ciliaryblue was set up we decided not to sell frames, only the lenses. This is because we feel it is hard enough to choose a frame when you can actually try it on, to do this remotely must be infinitely more difficult?

We have teamed up with a trusted frame supplier and now sell a quality frame as a Ready Reader. These are designed for occasional use or for use over contact lenses. They are glazed with the same quality lenses that we would sell via the website and sell from £10 on eBay. They can be supplied with anti-scratch or with anti-scratch/glare too.

You can visit the shop at http://shop.ebay.co.uk/ciliaryblue/m.html

You can of course ring and purchase direct on 01455 293417.

When we set up ciliaryblue, we from the outset wanted to make the pricing structure clear, fair and simple. We didn’t want to charge you more to glaze a rimless or semi-rimless no more to have your p.d measured from your glasses, not even any more for postage and packing. So the price quoted is the price you’ll pay.

We are always ready to answer emails with our extended out-of-hours service and the phone during normal working hours.

Email: info@ciliaryblue.com                            Phone: 01455 293417

9/01/11… Update. We have now sold many of these items, mainly direct from our website, it seems they are fast becoming the monocle to be seem with, beautifully simple and crafted.

We have had so many requests for monocles that we have made our own rimless version. We have tried all sorts of designs and combinations and come up with this!

They are available in powers +1/+1.5/+2/+2.5/+3. They can be made on 38/40 and 42mm diameter.

They can also be ordered with anti-scratch, anti-scratch/glare or the anti-glare/ultra-clean coatings.

They will cost £7.50/£11.5/£15 respectively.

Go to ebay at http://shop.ebay.co.uk/ciliaryblue/m.html

You can buy them direct from us if you wish, just ring on 01455 293417.

Ciliaryblue has many loyal customers who order time and time again. Each customer will have already received an email with a discount code that can be used to order with a 10% off in December.  If an order is placed in December using the code the customer will be entered into the prize draw.

The prize is an overnight stay for 2 people including breakfast and a bottle of Champagne on arrival at ‘Lords of the Manor’ a fabulous hotel situated in a timeless corner of the Cotswolds in the village of Upper Slaughter.

The winner will be informed on New Years Day.

If you didn’t receive the email please let us know.

Two of our suppliers have now notified us that they can get the ultra thin 1.74 index transitions lens material. The highest previous transitions material was the 1.67 index. The 1.74 material has been available as a clear non-reactive material for many years now. We have not been given any prices yet, as soon as we do, we will let you know. But as is often the case with new lens materials, they are expensive and tend to reduce with time.

So for those people who have high prescriptions that want the thinnest transitions lenses, then there is a new leader. The 1.74. They will come with anti-glare and scratch as standard.

Keep you posted

Most on-line spectacle companies sell hi-index lenses, as we do. What are they? And why have them? They are normally used for people that have higher prescriptions as they have similar optical qualities but are made from a more dense material so are thinner for the same power. In plastic we sell 1.50 (standard) 1.60 (thin plastic) 1.67 (super thin) and 1.74 (ultra thin). The higher the index the thinner the lens. 1.74 is the thinnest plastic available at the moment. The more dense the material the more reflections you get fom the lens surfaces, which is why all the hi-index lenses come with anti-glare/scratch included in the price. We have included photos showing all 4 different index lenses that we sell. All the lenses are the same power, that way you can see how much thinner they are! We can do hi-index/thin lenses in single vision as shown or in varifocals, where the effect is just the same.

1. This one shows a standard 1.50 index next to a 1.60 Thin lens  150-vs-160.JPG

2. This one shows a standard 1.50 index next to a 1.67 Super Thin lens  150-vs-167.JPG

3. This one shows a standard 1.50 index next to a 1.74 Ultra Thin lens  150-vs-174.JPG

4. This one shows all four lenses together  all-4.JPG

The consumer magazine ‘Which’ this week published a article about the relative qualities of over the counter ‘Ready-Reader’. The glasses that were purchased were examined by an optometrist to see if they were in fact, safe to wear. Some were found to have incorrect powers, more alarmingly some were found to have unequal optical centres. What this means is real terms, is that the optical centres was not set in the correct/same plane, this the forces the eyes to work in directions not intended and can give double vision and extreme visual discomfort, especially with the higher powered readers. The link to the article is here http://bit.ly/cCNmet .

The moral is to choose with care and to always choose the lowest power that works for you.

As an aside, what we have found is that many of our customers buy ready-readers for the frame primarily, they send them to us and have them reglazed with their correct prescription and have a very cheap pair of glasses.

To  order lenses for a reglaze please go to http://www.ciliaryblue.com/order.asp

Or ring on 01455 293417.

Ciliaryblue do not sell frames and have no intention of doing so. We get asked all the time where can good quality, branded frames be bought safely and with no risk. We are always very guarded about our response, but we have forged an alliance with an ebay based company selling frames only. We have seen the stock and know it’s authentic and they are to be trusted completely. If you buy their frames you will be offered a 10% dicount code for the reglazing of the glasses with us, making the combined product cheap and of great quality.

Have a look the link to them is http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/eyewearwh/  they are called Eyewear-Warehouse.