Ray-Ban Stories and SPHERE® by Starck Biotech Paris – both EssilorLuxottica brands – have been awarded in the product design category for the 2022 edition of the Red Dot Design Award.

Ray-Ban Stories

Ray-Ban Stories won the highest award in the competition, the Red Dot: Best of the Best. This prize is reserved for the best products in a category, the ones which stand out for groundbreaking design.

Result of the collaboration between Ray-Ban and Meta, Ray-Ban Stories are the first generation of smart glasses. They include a dual integrated 5MP camera to take photo and video; discreet open-ear speakers to listen, and a three-microphone audio array to deliver rich voice and sound transmission for calls and videos.

SPHERE® by Starck Biotech Paris

SPHERE® by Starck Biotech Paris received the Red Dot award for outstanding design quality. The Sphere hinge is designed on the idea of getting inspiration from Nature’s infinite intelligence and elegance in order to create high technologies.

The SPHERE® hinge is a revolutionary articulation, a minimalistic way to imagine eyewear thanks to its simplified structure, designed as a sphere. Made without screws or welding, SPHERE® technology offers unparalleled freedom of movement and unique lightness, with each frame weighting less than just 15 grams.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Nikon Optical Canada introduces a new series of lenses manufactured in Canada: E-Life Pro. On April 4, 2022, Nikon launches Home & Office Pro available in 1M and 2M and Online Wide Pro.

There is a tremendous consumer demand for near and intermediate vision to meet the needs of different lifestyles and activities, hence the need for greater precision and multiple solutions. A recent Eyesafe study shows that consumers spend 13 hours daily on digital devices. Thanks to a new algorithm in the Nikon Optical Design Engine, Nikon is able to address consumers’ needs while also providing eye care professionals with solutions that are simple to recommend and dispense.

With Home & Office Pro, eye care professionals can select the visual distance (1M or 2M) that corresponds best and specifically to the patient’s needs. This means that despite the patient’s add, eye care professionals are now able to guarantee the visual distance. Home & Office Pro is the lens solution to maximize each patient’s vision and comfort while performing mid-range activities.

Moreover, Online Wide Pro is designed to maximize the near vision potential so each patient can closely focus on the everyday details with a larger near vision and a 36% wider field of vision compared to the Online Wide Neo.

Whether you have patients that multi-task and require access to their near and intermediate vision for a long period of time or whether you have patients that remain in a static position for long hours at a very close distance, Nikon offers a solution: the new E-Life Pro series,  available in indexes 1.50 to 1.74 and a range of base curves from 2 to 8, best paired with SeeCoat Next Blue, SeeCoat Next Bright, SeeCoat Next, SeeSun Next and also available in Pure Blue UV material.

Nikon is offering eye care professionals a wide range of marketing tools from customer training to in-store patient experience. At all times, Nikon is able to provide their partners visibility on their order status thanks to the Customer Dispatch Date available online.

Click HERE for the full press release.

ZEISS PhotoFusion X lenses darken and clear faster[1] while providing a new level of integrated blue light and UV protection

 A single pair of glasses for all light conditions instead of having to switch between two pairs, a clear and a dark, sun tinted pair when moving between outdoors and indoors. That’s what photochromic lenses have been offering for years. ZEISS PhotoFusion X is the new and improved generation of photochromic lenses based on an entirely new photochromic system. With this relaunch, transition speed is significantly improved. In addition, comprehensive blue light protection both in- and outdoors is provided by a new base lens material.

Performance optimized When light-reactive lenses are exposed UV radiation, billions of photochromic dyes in the lens begin to change their shape. This reaction causes the eyeglass lenses to darken. The latest ZEISS PhotoFusion X lenses use a completely new photochromic system with faster dyes in a robust yet more open carrier matrix. In numbers, this means ZEISS PhotoFusion X lenses darken up to 60 percent faster than the previous generation of ZEISS PhotoFusion[2].

It’s even more important for many eyeglass wearers that lenses clear fast when moving from outside to inside. That’s why special efforts were made to improve this process.

Maryam Karbalaei, the Marketing Manager of Zeiss Vision Care Canada confirms “Thanks to its fast reaction speed, PhotoFusion has been the preferred choice of many eye care professionals and consumers for over a decade. Now, in light of the growing demand, ZEISS set out to take light-reactive lenses to a whole new level – ZEISS PhotoFusion X. With new, fast-reacting photochromic dye compounds, a new speed-optimized carrier matrix, and even a new lens material, ZEISS PhotoFusion X is not merely a product update. It is photochromics re-envisioned, a product reinvented”.

ZEISS PhotoFusion X lenses offer the advantage of glare and UV protection outdoors without the need for separate glasses. It provides UV protection of up to 400 nanometers in any activation state, whether clear or dark. But what’s so unique about the new generation of self-tinting lenses? The new generation photochromic lenses are based on ZEISS BlueGuard lens material. The base material selectively absorbs UV radiation and potentially harmful blue light.

With the new generation of ZEISS PhotoFusion X lenses, there are also many attractive styles and color options available.

Currently, photochromic lenses account for more than eleven percent of all eyeglass lenses sold worldwide. The segment is growing twice as fast as the overall global market for eyeglass lenses.[3] And, North America is expected to dominate the overall photochromic lenses market by 2026. Canada with a 14.6% Photochromics Market share is one of the most potential and growing markets among North American countries. “With the significant improvement in the performance of our self-tinting eyeglass lenses, the increasing consumer awareness of blue light protection, and the new trendy options offered by the ZEISS PhotoFusion X portfolio, we are confident about the future of this eyeglass lens segment,” says Bryan Rossi, the President of Zeiss Vision Care Canada.

To learn more, click HERE

Click HERE for the press release.

This post is sponsored by Zeiss Vision Care Canada.

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[1] compared to previous generation ZEISS PhotoFusion

[2] Analyses by Technology and Innovation, Carl Zeiss Vision GmbH, DE 2021 in accordance to ISO 8980-3. Based on the average speed (%T/min) of activation from clear state to 30%T at 23°C in grey 1.60 index and polycarbonate in HC only form.

[3] Strategy with vision: Consultants to eyewear and eyecare. World lens and frame demand study 2020. Germany: SWV, September 2020.

Safilo announces its return to the main show floor of Vision Expo East (VEE). There, Safilo will be present with a corporate booth from Friday, April 1^st – Sunday, April 3^rd. 

The booth, boasting 8,000 square feet – in addition to an adjacent 400 square foot dedicated to a kate spade new york pop-up boutique – will welcome show attendees and customers into its sales environment.  There, the company’s Spring/Summer 2022 eyewear offerings will be presented with a special emphasis on the Carrera brand, newest launch collection Carolina Herrera, new Under Armour collection and men’s fashion brand BOSS.

Additionally, each of these above-mentioned brands will be front and center with attention-grabbing experiential activations. In particular, Carrera will feature a branded selfie station, complete with two Ducati motorcycles as part of the recently announced partnership and product collaboration while Under Armour will offer a mini-golf activation where show guests can win prizes for hole-in-ones.

Outside of the Safilo booth, Robin Brush, ABOC, Safilo USA’s Training and Education Manager, will present three continuing education courses to show attendees to help them achieve better results for their practices.  These include:  J.O.B.S. (Joint Opportunity to Believe in Staying) Program on April 1 from 11:00am-12:00pm, Return Rate Rescue on April 1 from 5:00-6:00pm and It’s Not About You – What About the Patient? on April 2 from 8:30am – 9:30am.    

Click HERE for the full press release.