Concept designConcept design. Fictional business, not client work.By Press Row Studio
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Every frame is measured twice.

Once by the maker, in the numbers printed inside the arm. Once by us, on your face. This page is the first half: how to read a frame, what lens materials change, and what happens between choosing a frame and wearing it.

Rows of eyeglass frames on a white display (stock photo)
Stock photo, not our optical.

OP.02-AINSIDE THE ARMFIVE THINGS, A TO E

Read the inside of the arm.

Most frames carry the same five things on the inside of the arms, in roughly this order. The maker’s name and country are usually on the other arm.

Inside of a tortoiseshell frame’s arm, printed 50, box, 19, slash 145 (stock photo)
Stock photo of a real frame: 5019, temple 145. Some makers print a slash before the temple.

OP.02-BLENS THICKNESSDRAWN TO SCALE

Two choices make a lens thinner. Material, and eye size.

Prescription strength (nearsighted)
Eye size of the frame

At −6.00 in a 52 mm lens, 1.74 is about 1.4 mm thinner at the edge than 1.50.

Approximate: a round lens centered in front of your pupil, 1.5 mm at the center, flat front. Real lenses vary with frame shape, front curve and your pupil distance. For farsighted (plus) prescriptions it’s the center that gets thick, and the same two rules apply.

  1. 1.50Standard plastic

    5.7 mm

  2. 1.60Mid-index

    4.9 mm

  3. 1.67High-index

    4.6 mm

  4. 1.74Highest index

    4.3 mm

OP.02-CLENSESAND WHAT GOES ON THEM

Four kinds of lens, four coatings worth knowing.

  • SVSingle vision

    One prescription across the lens, for distance or for reading.

  • PALProgressives

    Distance at the top, reading at the bottom, with no line. We measure where your pupils sit in the frame you picked so the zones land in the right place.

  • OFCComputer and office lenses

    Wide middle and near zones for a desk and a screen. Many people over 45 keep a second pair for work.

  • SUNPrescription sunglasses

    Any frame that takes a lens, tinted or polarized. Polarized lenses cut glare off water and roads.

  • Anti-reflective

    Fewer reflections in the lens, for night driving and photos. We pair it with most high-index lenses.

  • Scratch-resistant

    A hard coat on every plastic lens we sell.

  • Light-reactive

    Lenses that darken outdoors. Most darken less behind a windshield.

  • Impact-resistant materials

    Polycarbonate or Trivex in every kid’s pair and every safety pair.

OP.02-DFROM FRAME TO FACEABOUT A WEEK, UP TO TWO

From the wall to your face in four steps.

  1. Day 1Choose and measure

    Frame, lenses, and three fitting measurements: pupil distance, fitting height, and how the frame tilts.

  2. Days 2–10At the lab

    Lenses are surfaced to your prescription, cut to the frame’s shape and checked against the order.

  3. PickupFitted on you

    We bend the temples and pads to your face before you leave. Twenty minutes, not two.

  4. AfterCome back any time

    Glasses loosen. Tightening and refits are free for as long as you own them.

OP.02-EADJUSTMENTSANY FRAME, BOUGHT ANYWHERE

Loose, crooked or squeaking? Walk in.

Glasses drift out of shape: a hinge loosens, an arm gets sat on, nose pads yellow. Most fixes take a few minutes at the bench, and they’re free whether or not you bought the frame here.

Book a frame fittingOr call(405) 555-0147

  • Adjustments and refitsFree

    Any frame, bought anywhere. Walk in.

  • Nose pads and screwsFree

    We keep the common sizes in the drawer.

  • Lenses in your own frameAsk us

    If the frame is sound, we’ll check it can take new lenses.

  • Broken hinge or armAsk us

    Some we fix, some go back to the maker. We’ll tell you which on the spot.

CallBook a frame fitting