Help zone

Q: HOW CAN YOU PROVIDE SPECS AT SUCH AMAZING PRICES???

A: Simple we have kept our overheads to a minimum by not testing eyes in store, this means we can pass the saving directly to you. Extremely high volumes of people purchasing from us also allow us to offer you these products at unbeatable prices. However, since we cannot reduce the price of current designer frames, giving you free prescription lenses* is our way of offering you current designer specs at the lowest possible prices. Even if you want to“upgrade” your lenses by choosing high index lenses (thinner and lighter) bifocals or varifocals or by adding coatings to your lenses (anti-reflection coating etc…) you wont be able to buy your frames or lenses cheaper anywhere else.

Q: DO WE SELL CHEAP DESIGNER SPECS?

A: No we sell exactly the same products as high street opticians however, we have kept our overheads to a minimum by not testing eyes in store, this means we can pass the saving directly to you. Extremely high volumes of people purchasing from us also allows us to offer you these products at unbeatable prices.The same applies to our contact lenses, we do not sell “cheap contact lenses”, we sell exactly the same products as other opticians just at better prices.

If you are interested in purchasing specs that you have seen elsewhere from us but can’t find them on the website, please contact us by email at info@dragonspecs.co.uk or phone us on 0207

Q: DO YOU OFFER DISCOUNT FRAMES?

A: No, the frame manufacturers will not allow this for it would hugely undermine the brand if this season’s collection were discounted. However, since we cannot reduce the price of current designer frames, giving you free prescription lenses* is our way of offering you current designer specs at the lowest possible prices. Even if you want to“upgrade” your lenses by choosing high index lenses (thinner and lighter) bifocals or varifocals or by adding coatings to your lenses (anti-reflection coating etc…) you wont be able to buy your frames or lenses cheaper anywhere else.

Q: WE DO BIFOCALS & VARIFOCALS TOO!!!

A: If you wear bifocals or varifocals you have probably noticed that up until now you have been unable to save money by purchasing from other internet sites because they only sell single vision lenses. Now you too can save £££s because we have a retail outlet in central London so if you can come to see us we can take the necessary measurements to supply you with bifocals or varifocals.

Q: WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE HAD AN EYE EXAMINATION RECENTLY HOWEVER I DO NOT HAVE A COPY OF MY PRESCRIPTION & WANT TO PURCHASE MY SPECS FROM THE DRAGONSPECS?

A: You have a few options available to you, so you can choose whichever one suites you best.

1. You can request a copy of your prescription from your optician. You can then either post this to us or fax it to The Dragonspecs. You should not encounter any problems in obtaining a copy of your prescription, for your optician has a legal obligation to provide you with one. You are not under any obligation to purchase your spectacle frames &/or lenses from the optician who tested your eyes.
2. We can request a copy of your prescription from your optician for you, so all you need to do is tell us who last tested your eyes.

Q: PRESCRIPTION OUTSIDE THE RANGE YOU HAVE SPECIFIED. CAN I STILL BUY MY SPECS FROM THE DRAGONSPECS?

A: Please contact us so that we can discuss your prescription and lens options with you. You can email info@dragonspecs.co.uk or TEL: 0207

Q: WHAT IF MY SPECS NEED TO BE ADJUSTED?

A: If you do need a minor adjustment to your specs most high street opticians will either do this free of charge or charge a nominal fee.

Q: WHAT IS TITANIUM?

A: Titanium is an ultra light, very robust and non-corrosive metal. It’s nearly half the weight of stainless steel, does not contain nickel and therefore does not cause nickel allergies. (The symptoms of nickel allergy are: itchy, dry, rashes and blisters).

Q: WHAT DO THE MEASUREMENTS ACTUALLY MEAN?

A: Lens size is the measurement across the widest part of the lens(mm) and the nose bridge. For example size 47/18-147 means that each lens is 47mm wide, the nose bridge is 18mm wide and the frame side is 147mm long. The size of your current specs can usually be found either on the inside of the side of your specs on the inside of the bridge or nose pads (it can be quite difficult to see if it is not on the side).

Q: ARE THERE ANY LEGAL RESTRICTIONS THAT APPLY TO BUYING SPECS ONLINE?

A: You must provide us with a valid prescription (should be within the recall period that was advised eg 1 or 2 yrs) and have been issued by a registered optician.

We also cannot supply spectacles to any person under the age of 16yrs or those registered blind or partially sighted over the internet.

Q: HOW OFTEN SHOULD I HAVE MY EYES TESTED?

A: You should see your optician at least once every 2yrs unless you have been advised to attend more frequently eg once a year or every six months – it is very important that you get your eyes checked as regularly as is necessary for it is better to pick up any changes in the health of your eyes or in your prescription as soon as possible in order to ensure the best possible better outcome.

Your prescription tells us the exact strength of the lenses that you need to correct your eyesight, as determined by your optician during the eye examination.

The prescription is best explained using an example as follows

A prescription will always be set out using a very similar format to that shown here, all the terms shown will be present however, not all of them apply to you in which case there will not be an entry under the heading that does not apply.

The first entry in the above example, –3.00, is the power of the sphere (abbr. SPH). The minus (-) sign denotes the fact that a negative lens is needed to correct your sight this means that you are short sighted(myopic) –you can see things close to you however, your far sight is affected. Similarly, if a plus (+) sign precedes the number this is to denote that a positive lens is needed to correct your sight this means that you are long sighted(hyperopic) –you can see things far away from you however, your near sight is affected.

The second entry in the above example, -0.50, is the power of the cylinder (abbr. CYL). This is only relevant if you have astigmatism (many people do, its not rare).

Astigmatism is where the front of the eye is more curved in one direction than in the other, the common analogy that is used to explain this point is that in an astigmatic eye the front of the eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, where the latter has the same curvature in all directions. So, basically if you have astigmatism all it effectively means is that your eye needs a little more power to correct it in one direction than in the other. The lens used to correct astigmatism is called a cylinder it works by having more power in one direction than the other and so can be used to exactly correct your astigmatism; from this you can probably tell that astigmatism is slightly complicated and thus there are many combinations of where this extra power is needed and how much is needed to correct an individuals eye.

So, as already explained the value under the heading CYL tells us the amount of power needed; and the value under the heading AXIS tells us where this extra power is needed (ie in which direction when looking at an eye for the unit used to quantify this element is the angle in degrees).

Most people will not have an entry under the headings PRISM or BASE, for a prism is the type of lens used to correct a misalignment in how the eye muscles of the two eyes co-ordinate together. So, obviously you will only need this if you have a problem with your eyes being unable to work effectively together without the help of this additional lens. The BASE again is simply the direction in which this lens needs to be placed to correct your eyes (this time the direction is described using the terms IN, OUT, UP OR DOWN.

ADD – This stands for reading addition. This being the amount of extra help an individual needs to read near work. Again this part of the prescription may not necessarily apply to you. A reading add is most common for people over the age of 40. The reason for this is that the lens inside your eye has a natural ability to change the power of the eye by a certain amount to allow you to change your focus from the distance through to near. It achieves this by increasing in width when you look at something close to you and decreasing in width as you look at something far away; this process of getting fatter for close work and thinner for focusing at distance is known as accommodation and actually starts to decline in your 20s, this is just part of the natural ageing process ; however, usually most people are about 40yrs old when they start noticing problems with focusing at near (generally you will be slightly older if you are short sighted and slightly younger if long sighted). Again, the power of the lens required to focus at a set distance is fairly precise therefore it is not unusual to have more than one reading add for closework eg +1.50DS for near(used for reading books etc…) & +1.00DS for computer use (as you need less power to focus on an object further away and most people read closer than where their computer screen is located.