Blog

June 21, 2018

Essilor Moves Up in Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies Annual Ranking

Essilor has been named by Forbes as one of the world’s 100 “Most Innovative Companies” for 2018, ranked 52nd; a marked increase compared to 2017 (68th). Every year since 2010, Essilor has figured among the top 100 publicly traded companies identified by investors as having the highest innovation potential.

The 2017 launch of the Varilux® X series™ progressive lens is a prime example of the Group’s consumer-centered innovation capabilities. It represents years of collaboration between researchers, engineers, physiologists, sociologists, and consumers to answer visual needs and lifestyles of consumers worldwide. In 2018, the announcement with Johnson & Johnson Vision of the first photochromic contact lens featuring Transitions® Light-Intelligent Technology™ is another breakthrough, addressing the unmet needs of contact lens wearers.

“Innovation has always been a cornerstone of our mission and our strategy”, said Laurent Vacherot, President and Chief Operating Officer of Essilor. “As an industry leader, we believe it is our company’s duty to continue pushing the boundaries of optical solutions that can correct and protect people’s vision everywhere. We have evolved our innovation processes to reflect the world today – networked, collaborative, and creative – in order to meet the changing lifestyles of existing eyeglass wearers and respond to the vast, unmet vision needs of 2.5 billion people living with uncorrected poor vision.”

Click HERE for the full press release.

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018

The Vision Council Ramps Up Promotions for National Sunglasses Day 2018

For the fifth consecutive year, The Vision Council is promoting the importance of UV-protective eyewear with the celebration of National Sunglasses Day, taking place June 27.

The annual day of recognition, which has garnered support and promotions from organizations across the eyewear and eyecare industry, reminds consumers that wearing sunglasses is not only fashionable, but also a health necessity to protect the eyes from long- and short-term damage from the sun’s UV rays.

The National Sunglasses Day campaign went viral in 2016 and 2017, garnering more than 586 million and 900 million print, online, social media and broadcast impressions, respectively, through outlets like “TODAY with Kathie Lee & Hoda,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Daily Buzz,” Bustle.com, InStyle.com and People.com, among many others. In 2016, National Sunglasses Day was a trending topic on Facebook, and in 2017, the official campaign hashtag was trending as no. 1 on Twitter throughout June 27.

June 21, 2018June 18, 2018

New Optical Implant Inspired by Butterfly Wing Structure

Researchers at Caltech looked to nature for inspiration to design more effective, longer-lasting eye implants.

Hyuck Choo, assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech, has been working on designing an implant that measures intra-optical pressure in glaucoma patients.

The tiny implant flexes as eye pressure changes, and this change can be measured using a handheld reader. The problem he ran into was that to get accurate measurements the reader must be held at exactly a 90 degree angle with respect to the implant.

The Glasswing Butterfly’s wings are coated in tiny pillars, about 150 nanometers apart and 100 nanometers in diameter. These pillars redirect light from any angle, greatly reducing reflections, a phenomenon known as “angle-independent antireflection.”

By creating a nanostructured coating in mimicry of the butterfly’s wings, the light from the reader will pass through the implant and give the correct reading independent of the angle.

“The nanostructures unlock the potential of this implant, making it practical for glaucoma patients to test their own eye pressure every day,” Choo says.

As an additional bonus, the nanostructures discourage fouling of the implant by trapping a layer of water around it. According to Vinayak Narasimhan, a graduate student at Caltech working on the project, “Cells attach to an implant by binding with proteins that are adhered to the implant’s surface. The water, however, prevents those proteins from establishing a strong connection on this surface.”

The results of this project were published in the April 30 edition of Nature Nanotechnology.

June 19, 2018May 20, 2026

Fresh Rimless Look

Statement from Kate Spade New York: “Although Kate has not been affiliated with the brand for more than a decade, she and her husband and creative partner, Andy, were the founders of our beloved brand. Kate will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time.”

Kate Spade New York celebrates 2018 with a road trip across America. The Janay/s features an oversized square shape in a lightweight rimless frame construction, featuring metal and acetate temples and special tri-colour gradient lenses with soft mirror effects. Offered in havana/ brown shaded lenses, pink havana/green shaded pink lenses, blue/green silver mirror lenses and pink/green lenses.

Distributed by Safilo: www.safilo.com

June 18, 2018

Hoya Partners with Alberta’s Nova Optical Labs

Hoya Vision Care Canada announces a strategic partnership with Nova Optical Labs in Red Deer, Calgary and Lethbridge Alberta to help strengthen the local presence as the only full-service laboratory in the province of Alberta.

Nova Optical Labs, an independent Canadian manufacturer, was established in 1992. They expanded
to Calgary in 2005, and then to Lethbridge in 2011.

Ahmos Henry, President of Hoya Vision Care Canada stated: “This partnership will help to set an unprecedented local presence in Alberta and provide Nova Optical Labs with multi-national brand support including customer care, manufacturing, sales and marketing.” This will add numerous capabilities to the existing manufacturing operations making Nova Optical labs one of the strongest lens suppliers in Canada. This will also provide the competitive edge in western Canada for both dress wear and protective safety eye wear.

In support of this partnership, Nova Optical Labs will be announcing a national campaign for a 24-hour service commitment on Seiko progressive lenses which includes anti-reflective coating.

Hoya Vision Care Canada will also extend their national marketing campaign to Nova Optical Lab customers providing even greater incentives for choosing Nova.

This agreement will be closing in June 2018 at which time Hoya will offer the support needed to expand and offer Nova’s Albertan made lenses to the entire Canadian market.

Click HERE for the full press release.