Taiwan Land of the Four Eyes

My new Gucci eyeglasses

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I stopped at the usual optometrist store. I bought the cleaning solution, AO Sept, that I use for my disposable lenses. I use the liquid every day, since I take out my contacts every night, ―sometimes I only wear them for a few hours. It fizzes and bubbles the accumulated proteins away, letting me easily use a disposable Acuvue daily for a few months. I didn’t take this route lightly. Johnson & Johnson was sued by people in the US because their daily products were the same as their monthly disposable contact lenses. The only difference was that you pay a lot more for the monthly ones.

Gucci goodness

Once I learned of this, in 2007, I bought some Acuvue for astigmatism, as I am myopic and astigmatic, and wore them for almost 3 years. I paid $45 in 2007 for two packets. They lasted me until a few months ago, with no ill effects.

A few months ago, I stepped on my old glasses. The glasses that I wear at home are old. I think that I got them in ’95, though I can’t be certain. Since then, I have been wearing contact lenses on and off. I have bought two new pairs of glasses, both from Oakley, which promptly broke after a few years. I won’t be buying prescription glasses from Oakley again. Two pairs of the same glasses, same model, and both were broken with a few years.

Managed to capture the logo in low light

Then, when I was at home, I had to revert to the glasses that I had that were still functioning. These were very old, but still looked not too bad. My wife had mentioned that I needed to change glasses, and I never did get around to it.

When I was in the store, I saw a pair of nice glasses. They were nice and thick, black, and solid, slightly nerdy-looking, which I liked. I checked them out. They fit nicely. It’s only then that I noticed the brand, Gucci. The salesman gave me a 20% discount, told me that I could have an exam in 10 minutes and pick them up tomorrow and I decided to go ahead. 10 minutes later, after having found out that with my new glasses I’d have 20/10 vision, I went home.

More Gucci

Today, after work, I popped in, paid for my glasses, $211, and after a few adjustments went home. I have to say that I was impressed. In total, I paid $22 for my lenses. That’s incredible. This means that I could have bought a local brand or cheaper frames for $31. Total cost of these cheaper glasses would have been around $50.

In Canada, if I were to buy new glasses, I’d expect to pay between $300-400 for a decent pair of frames, another $300-400 for the lenses. All in all, I got Gucci glasses for extremely cheap. I plan on picking up a few more pairs of glasses this year, stocking up for when I move to the US. I wouldn’t mind having 5 pairs of glasses.

I don’t track these things, but it seems to me, especially concerning my latest eye exam from 2007, that I’m less myopic but more astigmatic. Anyway, it’s a world of difference, as anyone with an updated prescription will tell you. The world, especially at home, is clear. I can move back from the computer screen and still be able to read all of the small text.

Photos were taken on 05.05.10 with a D200 and a 135mm f/2D lens. They weren’t post-processed.