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.

There has been an article in the Optician Magazine this week about the growing number of people driving with defective vision.

The facts make startling reading, 45% of the UK’s driving population (34.7 million) wear glasses 10% of those confess to not wearing them, that’s 1.5 million! Of the 19 million not wearing glasses that drive 40% confess to having problems seeing at night or in poor weather or feel their eyesight isn’t perfect, that’s 7.6 million.

The total number of drivers that may have a problem driving in the UK could be as high as 9.1 million or more worryingly 1 in 3 of the drivers on the road!

The implications of driving with defective vision are that the insurance is invalidated

Ciliaryblue feel that they have contributed to improving road safety in the UK by offering lower more affordable prices, those that wouldn’t have changed their glasses on the basis of cost may certainly reconsider when they realise we are often less than 1/4 of the high street price.

 The article can be seen at the following link: http://bit.ly/dky1XU

The website is set up so that the ordering of replacement lenses is as simple as it can be, while making sure there is little room for errors.

Once you’ve ordered once and the prescription has been verified and all your details checked too, then they are stored securely on our dedicated administration site. This means that we can call up all your details within seconds.

If you want to re-order lenses and don’t have time to do it on the website or can’t lay your hands on the prescription details, just ring us on 01455 293417 and we will run the order through for you in seconds. This phone is manned from 9-5 weekdays and 10-4 weekends. If we miss your call we will get back to you.

Our owner (the Optician) designed a michine a year or so ago, for measuring and plotting the exact positioning of varifcoal fitting points. These measurements are taken from an existing pair of your spectacles that have varifocals fitted. Once the measurements are taken they can then be applied to any other frame, this can be done at the same time or any time in the future.

This, we feel, puts ciliaryblue right at the forefront of optics on the internet. The new machine we have, we think, is the only one of it’s type and gives our company a flexibility and an edge that few others have at the moment.