“Rhinestone Shades or Cheap Sunglasses”

I’ve never been one to fork over lots of money for sunglasses. Too often I leave them places, sit on them and break them, or leave them uncased in the car where they get scratched. A friend of mine, who does buy expensive shades, pointed out that if I bought the more expensive ones I’d probably take better care of them. I don’t dispute that. But are they better sunglasses because they cost more? Here’s an article that addresses just that (prices are in CAD, fyi):

Today you can get sunglasses really cheap — three pairs for $12 recently at a flea market. Or you can fork over $1,000 for a single pair studded with Swarovski crystals at an eyewear boutique. And there’s every style — iconic aviators, retro cat eyes, sleek sporty shades and glamorous Jackie O look-alikes — at every price in between available at every dollar, drug or department store. Not to mention at opticians, optometrists and online.

So what should you look for? What do you get for your money? To answer that, the Toronto Star had a selection of nine pairs of sunglasses, from a $4 pair to a $488 designer-brand, tested by an optometrist — with some surprising results.

Here was the lineup: Bright orange, rubber-frame child’s sunglasses ($4, flea market); jade women’s rectangulars ($4, flea market); black faux-Porsche ($10); metal aviators ($20, drugstore); brown-framed unisex ($60, optician’s shop); a pair of Michael Kors, $120; the ever-popular Ray-Ban Wayfarer (think Blues Brothers), $208; a classy Chanel, $358, and a rhinestone-bedecked wraparound Bulgari, $488.

Sunglass manufacturers follow voluntary industry standards when labelling their products. Consumers are advised to buy sunglasses labelled “100 per cent UV protection” or “UV 400.” The ultraviolet spectrum ends at 400 nanometres. But how can you be sure the label is truthful, especially with the market flooded with inexpensive glasses? A consumer can’t see this important ultraviolet protection. The darkness of the lens has nothing to do with it.

Dr. Joe Chan, an optometrist in Queensway, passed the nine pairs of sunglasses, both lenses, through the UV meter in his office. All nine registered 100 per cent UV protection, even the cheap ones.

The second test checked for lens clarity. Chan cleaned the sunglasses (all of them had plastic lenses) and then held them up individually in front of a light projecting an image of an eye chart onto a screen about 20 feet away. The sunglasses bought for $4, $10 and $20 all gave a blurry view of the letters on the screen. Disappointingly, the $60 pair made reading the letters a guessing game. That E on the top line contorted into a B.

The glasses priced from $120 to $358 provided a noticeably crisper, clearer read. However, the $488 pair made the letters a bit blurry. That was due to the curvature of the wraparound design, says the optometrist.

“The clearer lenses are because of the quality of the materials and consistency of the tints,” explains Chan, past president of the Ontario Association of Optometrists. “Minor imperfections can distort the image.”

While our test sample was small, the results are similar to what Dr. Ralph Chou, associate professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science, has found over the years. Ultraviolet protection is not expensive for manufacturers to add. But you’ll pay for quality lenses. “Only when you start paying about $100 for sunglasses are you more likely to get optical-grade lenses,” says Chou.

As for frames, most are made from metal or plastic and vary widely in durability — and price. Chou thinks that $100 benchmark should get you a decent frame as well as good lenses. Others bump up the threshold to about $150.

People pay big bucks for sunglasses just for the designer name on the frame. Someone who can’t afford a Chanel dress may plunk down $380 for Chanel sunglasses, a classy logo on the side. But buyer beware. There’s no shortage of designer knock-off sunglasses. A raid earlier this month netted 16,000 counterfeit sunglasses with names such as Gucci, Guess and Ray-Ban among other major brands.

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OK, I think I’ll check out some nicer sunglasses at the Vision Source meeting in Orlando, April 25-28. Stop by and see us at Booth #19!

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