Glass or Plastic - Choosing Lens Material

Selecting the eyeglasses, people meet up with a frequent question – which lens is better, glass (mineral) or plastic (polymer). There is no univocal answer regarding the best material, since either of the latter ones have their pros and cons.

For decades, glass was the exclusive and sole material for lens manufacture. And despite the development of new technologies, it still remains the most popular material. This fact has a simple explanation, since the refraction index in glass lens is generally higher than in the plastic ones, allowing receiving a narrower lens, than the plastic one when it comes to higher diopter. In addition, glass lens is more durable and scratch resistant, thanks to which mineral lens has a longer life cycle than the polymer one.

The disadvantages of glass lens include its higher weight, lower impact security level than the polymer one, and in addition they can’t be used in full-rim and semi-rim frames.

The popularity of polymer and organic lens is growing every year, as more and more people choose them as the lens for their eyeglasses. They are produced from various kinds of plastic – polycarbonate, Trivex and others.

The refraction index of typical optical material is 1.5. The thickness of the lens depends on the diopter and financial abilities. The narrower lens is the higher is its price.

The main advantage of polymer lens is its heavy resistance to impact and higher temperatures, low weight and lightness. In addition, such lens has multilayer coating features, giving additional properties to the lens. And finally, plastic virtually has no restrictions in frame selection.

The main disadvantage of plastic lens is lower scratch resistance; this is why it requires special coating.

 www.voguespex.co.uk provides a wide selection of eyeglasses and lens. Do not hesitate to contact our online shop to find out the prices of the glasses.