Should You Really Splurge on Spectacles?

Let’s begin by listing a dozen products or services that people commonly splurge on today:

1. Hair treatments and makeup
2. Facial  aesthetic treatments (Botox and fillers)
3. Smartphones
4. Restaurants and entertainment
5. Cars
6. Shoes
7. Subscription services (Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, etc.)
8. Starbucks fancy drinks
9. Gym memberships
10. Teeth whitening
11. Elaborate vacations
12. Concert and sports tickets

Here is why the first splurge on your list should be your eyewear! Your eyes and face are the first things people look at when you first meet somebody. Eyes convey confidence, personality, emotions, and appearance. Your glasses can hide your eyes or enliven them. They highlight your sense of style and purpose.

Spotting someone with no-frills super basic glasses is like someone still sporting a flip phone! Hello, it’s 2017, time to upgrade.  Get with the program!  Say adios to flimsy frames that easily corrode and get brittle, lenses that are too thick and convey a poor image. Say “see you later” to frames that are too big and heavy, and slide down your nose and hurt your ears. People that see you wearing last decade’s styles assume you were too frugal and you got what you paid for.

I know what you are thinking.  Why should I splurge on spectacles when I can splurge on the next iPhone at a cost of nearly $800?  The answer is because you want all the new features, colors, styles, sizes, and enhancements to make your life better! You pay for the phone over a year with 12 monthly payments so you don’t feel it in your piggy bank.

Quality eyewear should be treated with the same attitude.   You want the best and most current style to enhance your appearance and vision.  When you buy quality, you are displaying to your friends and colleagues you take pride in your appearance.  And yes, you can pay for your glasses with 12 monthly payments too, just ask your optician. If anyone tallied up how much they paid for Starbucks over the course of a year, they would say that they could never afford to go out for coffee again.

Splurge for Craftsmanship

When you choose a phony buy-one-get-one BOGO deal, aren’t you paying double for the first pair and getting the second one free? Some of these poorly crafted glasses can barely hold the lenses in. They are like toy replicas of glasses. The establishment that supplies these cheap frames and lenses has cut the quality to cut the price; you get less quality for less price.

It’s kind of like buying a cheap roll of paper towels — the cost per sheet is less but you have to use more towels. Spring for quality, on the other hand, and the value becomes apparent as you have the personal enjoyment of ownership, long-lasting adjustments, comfort, and convenience, along with up-to-date style. Your quality image is intact.  When you choose to buy a pair of well-made glasses, you are choosing craftsmanship.  The best-made apparel in the world is made sustainably, environmentally friendly, with a quality labor force who is appropriately paid and has pride in their work.

Think of better quality eyewear like using better quality tools. You want the exact wrench for the exact size bolt and the right size screwdriver for the compatible screw. Buying your tools at the dollar store does not cut it for most projects where you can’t afford to strip your bolts and screws.

Quality eyewear is like a quality athletic shoe. It fits well, it’s lightweight, the design is outstanding, the materials are superior, but the price may be a bit higher.  A marathon runner would use more professional shoes and know that performance is commensurate with quality but may cost only a bit more. Essentially choosing high-quality eyewear is a no brainer.

RES / REI – Manufacturing Acetate At Mazzucchelli from RES / REI on Vimeo.

RES / REI – Manufacturing Acetate At Mazzucchelli from RES / REI on Vimeo.

I BREAK AND LOSE MY GLASSES ALL THE TIME. WHY SHOULD I BUY SOMETHING MORE EXPENSIVE?

Hardly a week goes by at Brill Eye Center when parents mention since their child is really rough on glasses and they only want to buy a no-frills pair.  That’s the very reason kids break glasses because they are made cheaply!  A quality kids frame (not necessarily expensive), will hold up to trauma from bouncy balls, bike wrecks, and rough kids play.

Good glasses can be easily adjusted and repaired if necessary. Parts are accessible. Warranties against defects in workmanship exist and are hardly ever used. Low-end glasses are made of easily-corroding stiff nickel-containing metal that turns green like a $5 gold necklace. Low quality plastic materials snap easily. Spring hinges get sprung easily with the only minor. Screws in the hinges get stripped out and can’t be repaired, The frames lose their shape in the heat of the summertime and are brittle and snap in the wintertime. Super glue can only go so far as a home repair, especially when you get it on the lenses.

A good pair of glasses can withstand common mistakes like sitting on them, colliding heads in sports activities, or babies tugging on them.  Also, good eyewear can easily be fixed by an optician who has the proper tools and parts. It makes a lot of sense to stop buying cheap eyewear only to have to replace it every 3-6 months due to minor trauma. Buy something nice, and plan to keep it for years to come.  Start to build a wardrobe of glasses you will appreciate.

Splurge For Style and The Perfect Look

There are other reasons to splurge on spectacles. One reason is aesthetics. High-quality eyewear looks better on you and enhances your features. Perhaps you convince yourself that a cheap pair looks good when it really doesn’t. Our eyeglass professionals can help you select substantially better-looking eyewear and can make sure you get glasses that fit correctly and stay comfortable on your head and face.

One of our favorite brands here at Brill Eye Center is Cartier eyewear. While Cartier is known for inventing the first wristwatch, it is the originator of most jewelry and eyewear styling. Simple and affordable elegance is what Cartier is known for, just like BMW and Mercedes in vehicles. We have offered Cartier Eyewear since 1990, and our patients always enjoy sporting such elegant eyewear. Even if you are not familiar with Cartier, it shouts out Style and Quality. If you really want to have a unique, beautiful, perhaps European look, you should ask about Cartier. Here are some of the aesthetic advantages of Cartier eyewear:

Highest Quality Materials

Your eyes are precious and you deserve products that showcase that. As the renowned French watch and jewelry maker for royalty worldwide, Cartier now creates a collection of exclusive eyewear for men and women that adds a touch of elegance to your face. Made of real 24 carat rose gold, white gold, and platinum are the materials used.

Just like a wedding band, you want your eyewear to last timelessly without turning your skin green. Diamonds, sapphires, rubies can be added for fancier tastes. The woods are made of exclusive Bubinga wood from Africa. The use of horn and many other fine materials make up these exquisite creations. Brill Eye Center is only one of two places to get Cartier in the whole geographic area. Cartier only selects the very few opticals to handle its fine eyewear.

Feel the Way You Deserve to Look with Timeless Style

Not only will splurging on eyewear give you a higher quality product and make you look good, but it will also make you feel good. We all know that when we look better we feel better, too. Pride of ownership gives personal satisfaction  There’s nothing wrong with having a positive attitude, doing good work, and owning a worthy symbol of success.

If you have any more questions about why you should splurge on eyewear, please feel free to contact us.