ENEMIES OF EYEWEAR
To see clearly, you need the lenses of your glasses to be clean and in good condition at all times. This is why you should clean your eyewear daily using a soft cloth and water, cleanser, or other special cleaning solution or disinfectant recommended by your optician.
Of course, the performance and durability of a lens also depends on the coatings that are applied by your optician of choice.
So how do you choose the right coating for your lenses?
To answer this question, we need to first consider what external agents can impact the look and functioning of a corrective lens.
GLARE: Glare can be caused by sunlight or other natural or artificial sources of light. Just think about how often you get blinded by the headlights of oncoming traffic when you’re at the wheel. This can be a problem for someone who doesn’t even wear glasses, so it can be that much worse when wearing corrective lenses.
If your lenses don’t have an ANTI-GLARE coating, bright lights can create a “ghosting” effect on the lens that interferes with your vision. With the right lens coating, you see more clearly and the lens is more transparent and more esthetically pleasing.
Even the most basic lens treatments available include a basic ANTI-GLARE coating.
SCRATCHES: Scratches are a nightmare for anyone who wears glasses. After spending good money on a new pair of lenses, the threat of scratching those lenses is always right around the corner. Plastic lenses have almost entirely taken the place of glass, despite being more prone to scratching, in part because they provide greater resistance to breakage.
But what can scratch a lens? Dust, first of all. Or dropping them onto a hard surface. Even cleaning them with the wrong type of fabric, which is why we recommend never using your clothes or paper tissues!
All organic lenses sold today come with a HARD coating on both sides of the lens in order to protect them from daily wear. There are also several extra coatings that can be requested in order to lend even greater scratch resistance.
GRIME: When you think of a dirty lens, the first thing that comes to mind are the fingerprints you leave when handling lenses with dirty hands. But lenses can also collect grime when working in a damp, dusty environment.
To protect your lenses under such circumstances, your optician will always recommend an OIL-REPELLENT coating to help keep your lenses clean.
LIQUIDS: In addition to fingerprints and other grime, water is also a threat to your lenses, so there are WATER-REPELLENT coatings that help keep water and other liquids from depositing on the lens.
DUST: In addition to causing micro-scratches on the surface of the lens, dust can collect on your lenses and affect your vision. For these cases, you can apply an ANTI-STATIC coating to minimize the amount of dust that sticks to the lens.
UV LIGHT: This is more of a threat to your eyes than to your lenses and can cause irreversible damage to your vision. This is why a coating that provides UV PROTECTION is often recommended, particularly if you work outdoors or enjoy lots of outdoor activities. UV protection can also be provided by the lens material itself in many corrective indexes.
It is also important to remember, however, that UV light comes from the sun and can cause the other coatings to deteriorate if you do not treat your glasses properly. For example, we highly recommend never leaving your glasses or sunglasses in the car or otherwise exposed to a heat source.
BLUE LIGHT: This, too, is a threat to your eyes and can be avoided with either coatings or lens materials that protect against BLUE LIGHT of up to 420 nanometers.
Which coatings does Divel Italia recommended in order to extend the life of a lens?
Coatings available with Divel Italia include:
HARD
SILKEN
SILKEN WHITE
CHROMA
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE NoUV
PERFORMANCE PLUS
HARD (H) Scratch resistance
With this lens coating, a special hardening layer is applied to both sides of the lens to lend it greater scratch resistance and protect it against daily wear and tear.
This type of base coating is suited for anyone who typically only wears glasses indoors and for just a few hours a day.
SILKEN (S) Scratch resistance, anti-glare, anti-static, oil and water-repellent
Our SILKEN Super Hydrophobic is an excellent standard coating suited to nearly every lifestyle. It gives your lenses greater protection against scratching and general wear and tear than our HARD coating thanks, above all, to its ANTI-STATIC layer, which prevents dust from settling on the lens. There is also a hydrophobic layer that enables water and grime to slide off the surface of the lens, so you won’t risk ruining your lenses when trying to clean off hard-to-remove dirt.
SILKEN WHITE (S white) Scratch resistance, super anti-glare, anti-static, oil and water-repellent, extra transparency
SILKEN WHITE has the same characteristics as our standard Silken, but ensures that the lens is fully transparent and bright. It is ideal for both corrective lenses and sun filters.
CHROMA (C) Scratch resistance, anti-glare, anti-static, oil and water-repellent, blue block
For all who use computers or other electronics on a daily basis, we recommend our CHROMA coating, which has all the characteristics of SILKEN plus protects against blue light, ensuring excellent visual comfort even under artificial light.
CHROMA is ideal for everyone who works a lot in front of a computer or experiences other sources of eyestrain at work.
PERFORMANCE (P) Scratch resistance, anti-glare, anti-static, oil and water-repellent
If you need an even more durable lens, your optician will surely recommend our PERFORMANCE coating, which is 12 times more durable than an ordinary hardening treatment. PERFORMANCE is applied to lenses used by people who enjoy highly active lifestyles and by anyone who needs particularly strong, resistant eyewear.
PERFORMANCE NoUV (P NoUV) Super scratch resistance, anti-glare, anti-static, oil and water-repellent, UV protection up to 400 nm
For complete protection from the sun along with excellent durability, we recommend going with our top-of-the-line PERFORMANCE lens: PERFORMANCE NoUV.
This coating surpasses the levels of total UV protection by blocking all UV light up to 400 nm. An added anti-reflection treatment with an oil and water-repellent, scratch-resistant surface protects against UV rays of up to 400 nm.
PERFORMANCE Plus (P+) Super scratch resistance, anti-glare, anti-static, super oil and water-repellent
This is the top-of-the-line coating currently available in that it provides super scratch resistance and is super water and oil repellent, making it perfect if you need a strong, long-lasting lens.
Of course, to ensure the durability and performance of this coating, in addition to the care and cleaning mentioned above, you also should:
Avoid leaving your glasses in the car, as sunlight can weaken the coating;
Not use eyewear retainers to hang your glasses around your neck. These are not very safe, and your glasses can come into contact with just about anything;
Not leave your glasses on top of our head, as they can fall and get damaged or misshapen;
Take off your glasses before using hairspray, perfume or cologne, as the alcohol content could harm the lenses and the frames;
Always store your eyewear in a hard-shell case.