Mineral lenses: Vuarnet celebrating the Made in France

Generation Eyewear is introducing you Vuarnet France, a brand that handcrafts its lenses near Paris, France. The production is 100% local with the raw material sustainably sourced from Seine et Marne, a few miles away for the manufacture. Vuarnet has been designing mineral lenses since 1957 and received the French certification EPV (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant). Vuarnet mineral lenses are natural and recyclable by opposition to “plastic” or CR39 organic lenses that most brands use for their eyewear.

Equipped with the V trademark to guarantee authenticity, and polarized or Lynx® technologies, all of their lenses ensure the highest levels of Protection, Precision and Comfort.

The production of mineral glass lenses is most definitely an art. One week of work and a seventeen-step process is necessary to produce each lens according to Vuarnet’s standards, from the selection of the best quality raw materials to the exclusive treatments on the lenses with strict quality control at each level.

The following video will make you understand better the steps followed within the production process.

The benefits of mineral lenses: a VUARNET perspective

PROTECTION AGAINST UV, BLUE LIGHT & INFRARED LIGHT

The mineral lens also called glass lens filters 100% of UV (UVA, UVB, & UVC) and provides up to 99% protection against damaging Blue Light also known as HEV (High Energy Visible Light), one of the most aggressive lights in the visible spectrum. VUARNET lenses are designed to absorb up to 94% of dangerous infrared, protecting eyes from irritating dryness, heat, and destruction.

DEFENSE AGAINST GLARE AND REFLECTIONS

Mirror lenses feature coatings to guarantee maximum protection against glare and reflections. VUARNET lenses also benefit from an anti-reflection treatment on the internal face, eliminating
all unwanted reflections.

SHIELD AGAINST POLARIZED LIGHT

The VUARNET polarized filter in selected lenses, eliminates up to 99.9% of polarized glare bringing optimum color definition and greater eye comfort.

What if we compared Glass lenses to plastic lenses?

Lens material can be a difficult choice when purchasing glasses online or in a store. Let’s try to make it easy for you.

The two major differences between glass and plastic are weight and scratch resistance.

While Mineral glass lenses guarantee no chromatic distortion and a vision in high definition, they are much heavier than plastic lenses, which can be annoying for several reasons. The added weight on your nose can cause uncomfortable and unattractive pressure points as you wear the glasses all day, and it can also cause the glasses to slide down your face.

The second major difference is scratch resistance. Plastic lenses, while lighter, don’t have the scratch resistance of glass. Scratching glass lenses is a fairly difficult and unlikely thing to do unless you drop them, whereas plastic lenses are fairly easy to scratch, requiring a bit more care in handling. This scratch resistant property makes the glasses last longer.

However, it is extremely unlikely that you will ever break or crack plastic lenses, but glass lenses are likely to crack, splinter, or shatter if dropped on a hard surface such as concrete or metal.

Plastic lenses are also less reflective than glass lenses, making them clearer and less prone to glare. Furthermore, glass lenses generally have a higher index than plastic lenses, making them slightly thinner and more attractive looking.

Glass lenses provide sharper vision in comparison to plastic materials (so-called organic). As a proof for that: all cameras, microscopes and telescopes that require the best optical precision are all equipped with mineral lenses.

Mineral glass lenses are composed of silicon dioxide or quartz. It is 100% natural and therefore 100% recyclable.

Plastic lenses come in more colors and larger sizes than glass lenses, making them much more versatile. Whereas the frames you can get carrying glass lenses are limited, you can get virtually any type of frame in prescription with plastic lenses.

Conclusion

Although glass lenses are more expensive due to the number of benefits, the huge reduction in weight and versatility in prescription frames has caused plastic to win out in popularity in the glass vs plastic lens material race. We would however recommend glass lenses when it comes to sun exposure because it offers the various benefits mentioned above however glass lenses are much rarer than plastic when it comes to prescription glasses.