Sunglasses

Your choice in sunglasses today says more about your personality and lifestyle than ever before.

You can purchase sunglasses from almost anywhere. However, Matthews will only stock leading brands that provide high quality visual protection that our Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians have endorsed. Not only that, we supply the latest styles from a wide range of top international fashion labels, including:

There is more to choosing sunglasses than meets the eye. The key is to ensure you try lots of different pairs!

Frames

There are two types of frame material used for sunglasses; metal and plastic.

Metal frames are thinner and often lighter. They are easily adjustable, making them comfortable. As metal conducts heat away from the face where the frames touch, metal frames can be cold to wear in winter..

Plastic frames are usually chunkier than metal. Many have metal wire in the arms to allow them to be adjusted, but if they receive an impact they will break rather than bend. Some plastics are more brittle than others, so if you want to use them for sports ask which will be more durable.

Lenses

Visible light is only a part of a much larger spectrum of radiation, all with different wavelengths. The wavelengths at each end of the visible spectrum are ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light, which the eye can't see. There is strong scientific evidence that suggests these wavelengths of light can be harmful to the eye, leading to the early formation of cataracts and retinal problems.

The lenses in sunglasses are designed to reduce all wavelengths of light entering the eye. They reduce visible light to a comfortable level, and virtually eliminate all of the harmful invisible ultra-violet and infrared light.
There are two types of UV that affect us most - UVA and UVB. UVB is the most harmful of all UV rays, so when you see “100% UV protection” on sunglasses, just ensure that it is for both UVA & UVB rays.

There are three main types of lenses; glass, plastic and polycarbonate. They are all equally clear and optically correct, but there are a number of differences:

• Plastic lenses are much more impact resistant and are lighter than glass, but scratch more easily.
• Polycarbonate lenses are impact resistant, and stronger than plastic
• Glass lenses are in fact quite rare today, and are scratch resistant, but can be broken or shattered and are heavier than plastic lenses.

All lenses are available in different colours and shades. They can also have different features added to them, like Anti-reflective and Scratch resistant coatings (link to coatings on lenses page).

Photo chromatic lenses (more commonly known as transitional or light sensitive lenses)
These 'intelligent' lenses allow have a variable tint, triggered by different levels of light: clear indoors or in dim conditions, automatically changing to a light tint in the shade and full sunglasses when outdoors.

Polarised tints

Polarised tints are ideal for water sports, and you can tailor your sunglass lenses to a particular tint in prescription sunglasses.

Types of tint

The colour or shade of a lens is not an indicator as to how much UV they allow through.

Our natural light is blue base:

• Brown or bronze tints usually give better contrast, and are widely used by skiers and snowboarders.
• Grey gives undistorted colour perception.
• Polarised lenses cut out a lot of reflected light, allowing greater clarity in aquatic conditions. These are popular with fishermen and boaties.

Graduated tints are darker at the top than the bottom, and are largely a fashion accessory.

Children's Sunglasses

Before age 18 is typically when you get half of your life's sun exposure, with the most sun damage occurring before age 8.
For children, wearing sunglasses is just as important as wearing hats and sun-block. A hat only shields your eyes from 50% of the suns rays, so children in sunny conditions for long periods of time should begin wearing sunglasses as young as six months old.

Matthews has a wide range of childrens’ sunglasses available. Contact your nearest branch where our Dispensing Opticians can take you through the features and benefits of our sunglasses for children.