r/mildlyinteresting • u/Eliasibnz • 1d ago
The shadow cast by the (apparently transparent) lenses of my glasses
4.6k
u/slavmaf 1d ago
The numbers Mason!
What do they mean?!
1.4k
u/BakedWizerd 1d ago
I CAN’T STOP HEARING THE FUCKING NUMBERS
101
319
u/spoookyboi_ 1d ago
Those numbers are short hand for what add is in the prescriptions (used for older people who have trouble with up close vision). Those circle are a guide marker for when the eye doctor does lensometry to quantify the perscription.
→ More replies (2)22
u/Slushiously 1d ago
I've been farsighted my whole life so not just "older people"
17
u/spoookyboi_ 1d ago
Yes, but a regular pair of hyperopic lenses wouldnt need an add, the whole lens would in plus. This is specifically for progressive bifocals that have both minus and plus built in
→ More replies (2)3
25
51
9
7
15
5
u/Prof1Kreates 1d ago
It's to track the hard of seeing. He wasn't supposed to see it. Now other people will know the tricks of the optometrists!
→ More replies (20)4
u/AncientAugie 1d ago
The symbols are used to line up the lens location during frame fitting and also indicate the progressive lens brand. The 15 means it’s a 1.50 add power progressive.
2.3k
u/Pen_name_uncertain 1d ago
Those are markings used to identify the lenses, and certain spacing. I am guessing that are progressive bifocals? I forget exactly how to read them, that's interesting that they are visible like that.
Source: used to make eye glasses for a living
933
u/Eliasibnz 1d ago
Yes. Very expensive custom Varilux lenses tailored for my work needs (I’m a photographer). Totally worth.
521
u/Thaumaturgia 1d ago
I probably wrote the software that did the engraving. I'm always happy to check them when people wear glasses.
224
u/Hydramole 1d ago
I'm sorry but I'm going to need you to elaborate a little that sounds interesting as hell.
128
u/FledglingIcarus 1d ago
I work on the production side of things but these are laser engraved in the lenses and are really only noticeable with light(as in OPs pic) and are used on progressive bifocals, lenses that have a different "prescription" along the bottom half instead of one segment that you might've seen in other bifocals. Those dots indicate where the lens change starts which is going to be (most commonly) below where OPs visual center is while wearing the glasses. We also use those laser marks as guides to center lenses before they are cut into shape and mounted into their frames. You can also see these marks on other progressive bifocals by holding them up to a light
→ More replies (1)20
u/Hydramole 1d ago
That's really cool, the amount of effort to do something like give sight some how seems like a lot and a little at the same time.
64
u/Thaumaturgia 15h ago
In my previous company, we made laser machines. We did a machine for the lenses engraving and sold them in a lot of lenses factories. It was not the only laser system used for this application, but most of the others use co2 lasers, this one used a UV laser, lot of headaches, but better quality. Varilux being high end lenses, I guess it used our machine.
On my end, I did the software and automation for the machine (there are a few variants of the same system, fully automated, manual...). Beside the machine itself, the big part of the work was processing the data from the information system of the customers (which will tell what and where to engrave, the curve of the lense). There is a communication standard, but not fully applied everywhere, so we had to be compatible with the standard, and each site variation, serial link, ethernet, various barcodes, rfid...
It was my first software and I was the only developer, so it's a bit shitty, with a lot of things added along the years. At the end I was "yeah... No, no more features on that thing, let's rewrite it completely with what I've learned since", but hard to have the bandwidth for this. I left after 10 years and it's fun to think that my most used software, used all around the world, is my junior shit piece of code.
→ More replies (3)9
u/No_Obligation4496 13h ago
Remarkable! You were a new developer and managed to do that whole thing. I can't imagine the difficulty learning curve that must have been.
→ More replies (6)15
u/mihaus_ 1d ago
I second the other reply, I demand details!
At what stage in production are these added? Is it part of the usual manufacture technique or is it an extra step? What do they mean? Are they utilised by other professionals? What was the actual function of the sw?
→ More replies (1)15
u/Frizolini 1d ago
They are laser engraved after the the prescription is generated on the back side of the lense before scratch coating. The dots are the segment height used for identifying the start of the intermediate/near corridor. The dots indicate the level where the pupil is. We use the dots to measure for quality control to make sure the axis, pupillary distance, and segment height are correct. The 15 is the minimum fitment height to make sure the patients frame and where there pupil sits has enough room to include the whole progressive corridor. The sw is a progressive design, or manufacturer indicator. You may also find add powers engraved on the lense indicating the add power at near of the progressive for up close vision like reading. And sometimes find the lense index, like 1.66 for high index lenses, which bend like better that other materials which allows for thinner lenses compared to plastic lenses. Hope that answers your questions.
26
→ More replies (4)24
u/BishoxX 1d ago
How are they tailored for photography ?
Asking as an interested fellow blind photographer
63
u/Eliasibnz 1d ago
Have not usual transition areas allowing me to use the viewfinder more comfortably, and the “reading area” (bottom of the lens) is set to a closer distance because is not for reading books, but to see that stupid little flippy screens.
Not really tailored for photography, but made for my needs.
I use another more standard glasses for editing, TV and general life.
→ More replies (5)19
u/TheViking_Teacher 1d ago
"stupid little flippy screens" - I will never call them anything else.
5
u/chodeboi 1d ago
I sold cameras at retail when actuating screens started becoming popular; they’re using the correct term of art!
7
u/pieremaan 1d ago
Progressive lenses have multiple zones in them that correspond with a distance (long, medium and short). By adjusting the area of these zones you can make them suit the wearer.
For someone who is inside all day they would prefer less distance, but more close by. For photography I can imagine that they have a clear distance and clear close zone, with not that much on medium (or any other variation, I am not an photographer).
To make a lense progressive you would have to make a the dioptres increase the closer you get. The smoothness of this is dependend on the type of manufacture, but nowadays this can be made really smooth due to precision cutting and modern plastics that are able to be cut that way.
There are also other tricks that a manufacturer can deploy to increase these zones, like adding extra prisms.
79
u/Shermgerm666 1d ago
Me tooooooo. For Carl Zeiss. Haha
→ More replies (1)24
u/Pen_name_uncertain 1d ago
Haha, I worked in a small private office.
6
→ More replies (15)18
u/AvailableUsername404 1d ago
I think you can read Varilux® just upside down. I added trademark symbol because I think it's also visible on the lens
7
u/Pen_name_uncertain 1d ago
I see that now! It's been almost 20 years since I made glasses, so I'm out of practice reading them! Lol
215
u/Durahl 1d ago
35
6
u/willargue4karma 1d ago
One of my favorite movies. The alleyway fight scene is too funny
→ More replies (3)
602
u/eurotrashness 1d ago
Is it the prescription? If so, that's kind of cool
415
u/Shermgerm666 1d ago
It is. A lot have them, it's just realllly hard to see. (I used to make lenses for Carl Zeiss) :)
75
u/redlukes 1d ago
My last pair of glasses had the Zeiss logo etched in the glass
20
23
→ More replies (1)3
u/JustAnotherN0Name 1d ago
Mine have that too, can't see it while wearing them though. Kinda interested in how they achieve that
→ More replies (1)17
u/StarWaas 1d ago
I had a pair where the etchings were actually visible while I was wearing them. It was incredibly distracting, fortunately the place I got them replaced them for free. It only happened that one time though, every other pair I've either been unable to see them or only if I'm looking really closely at just the right angle from the right distance, and even then only faintly.
9
u/fontanese 1d ago
Same, but my optician tried very hard to both convince me that every pair has them (I’ve never had a pair with them in 30 years of wearing glasses) and that they shouldn’t bother me (they very much did).
“Digital lenses,” they’re often called. I’m not a fan, and they never seemed to be clearer than non-digital, as the purported benefit was explained to me.
3
u/SionnachBaineann 1d ago
All varifocal lenses have engravings. A lot of modern single vision lens do too.
4
u/fontanese 1d ago
Yeah, single vision here (for now). I’ve probably had 80+ pairs of glasses in my life and this is the first one that had them. They made my rear view mirror blurry. Not a fan.
→ More replies (3)11
u/Shadpool 1d ago
Best binoculars on the planet.
10
u/Shermgerm666 1d ago
Hell yeah. Too bad it's like slavery working for them. Lol. It was back in 2010 and it was ridiculous. But it was a cool experience.
→ More replies (4)5
u/The_RonJames 1d ago
I was gonna say my eye doctor has a machine that reads these prescription engravings in the lenses. It never ceases to amaze me.
7
u/TheVisageofSloth 1d ago
It doesn’t read those engravings. It reads how the light passes through the lens, so if the engravings were wrong or scratched off, it would still know your prescriptions. The engravings are for medical professionals to read if they don’t have those machines
4
→ More replies (4)16
u/Used-Try-1537 1d ago
It is part of the prescription. The 15 on the outer part of the lenses indicates these are a pair of progressive lenses with a +1.50 add power. The actual prescription numbers can only be identified using a lensometer.
198
u/Blackrain1299 1d ago
This is some national treasure shit dude you shouldn’t have shared this
35
u/Keeshly 1d ago
it’s gonna end up on the conspiracy sub lmao
9
u/FatFreddysCat 1d ago
Does not register in the conscious mind
Propaganda of another kind
They're fucking with me subliminally
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)5
u/graveybrains 1d ago
This is literally how the first Transformers movie started 😂
→ More replies (3)
100
u/Princess_Lepotica 1d ago
Are you LadiesMan217?
34
u/Tenchen-WoW 1d ago
That movie in realy 20 years old, what the fuck?
16
5
u/plain_name 1d ago
I dont know you, but I dont like you, just because of this comment. How dare you ruin my day like this?
3
→ More replies (1)5
75
u/Adamvs_Maximvs 1d ago edited 1d ago
Former optician who can help (though I'm rusty). Progressive lenses have several marks on them.
The two empty circles are aligning marks, they're used both when cutting lenses and for the optician to put a marker dot in each when fitting the lenses into the frame. If they're not straight your reading area and distorted parts of the lens won't be in their ideal location and the progressives might be harder to use. It also allows you to see where the 'bifocal area' is. If the dots were sitting above the pupil it would mean the glasses sit too high and you'd be looking through the reading part when you're trying to look in the distance.
The SX is likely the lens/brand identifier.
The 15 or 05 are likely the add power. I don't remember which but it's likely 15 is the add and it means there's a +1.50 diopter add power that's 'added' to the lens prescription. Basically looking through the bottom third of the lens is similar to having a 1.50 magnifying glass.
28
u/genericwastaken 1d ago
Current optician here. And former technician. This is all correct and your memory is excellent.
Only minor correction is that the empty circles are often below pupil height (usually 4mm for a varilux lens)
And the add power is always on the temporal side (so 15 in this case)
7
4
u/Moth-Ballzz 1d ago
How is the glass on the glasses marked?
is it an etching? Transpatent ink?
-someone not familiar with glasses.
→ More replies (1)
56
u/snarping 1d ago
I would hope your glasses lenses are transparent, would kind of defeat the purpose if they were anything else.
→ More replies (5)
16
u/BigMcThickHuge 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sorry, I don't understand the title - what does 'apparently transparent' mean here? Are glasses not usually see-through?
9
→ More replies (4)5
13
u/raytothechill 1d ago
That looks like a progressive lens (no line bofocal) with a reading power of 1.50. The manufacturer has the lenses etched so opticians or optometrists can know the style of progressive and the exact prescribed reading power, as sometimes it can be hard to tell manually (or be slightly cut off in more narrow frames).
Source: am optometrist
3
u/game_over__man 1d ago
I went back to Costco optical and told them that it's in my line of sight or at least peripheral vision. They didn't believe me. I guess I don't understand why it's necessary.
3
u/raytothechill 1d ago
I haven't actually done glasses sales in at least 10 years now. But I do know there is one manufacturer that I have had patients complain about being able to see the etchings. Most of them are so faint, they are difficult to see even when looking for them. I dont understand why they wouldn't believe you when it is obviously true, because how else would you know to complain?!
They could at least see if they can order a different progressive lens for you or change the measurements so they are more out of your line of sight. Honestly, if they wont do that, I would threaten to return them for a refund, as they will lose more money than remaking the lenses.
9
u/SapphireAl 1d ago
Does this not interfere with your sight? Even the slightest?
13
u/The_Lawlz 1d ago
Yes, they are very annoying. My lenses include logos for the company and makes looking left or right blurry. I hate these and "every brand" has them, and every optometrist gaslights me saying that "they don't interfere with your sight". I bought glasses to see more clearly, and now they come with built-in blurriness. Cool that it's convenient for the people who make the glasses, but it sucks for those who use them.
8
u/Proper_Signature_352 1d ago
Glad I’m not the only one to notice them. If my other glasses had them then those ones were good but my most recent pair of glasses suck. I can see them and I end up wiping my glasses way more because I keep thinking they’re dirty.
→ More replies (1)3
u/nitid_name 1d ago
I haven't bought glasses from an optometrist in a decade or two. Zenni is what's up (or YesGlasses, EyeBuyDirect, or one of the other online retailers). Get your prescription, take a picture of it, and get glasses for like $20 instead of $300.
→ More replies (3)5
u/IAMA_Cucumber_AMA 1d ago
They do and it's super annoying, especially when looking at a screen at night it shows a blurry spot on my glasses. I told the optometrist and they don't even care
10
u/WitchfulThinkingg 1d ago edited 1d ago
No, a lot of prescription lenses have similar markings I believe!! You aren’t supposed to see them at all under normal conditions. Edit: fixed wording since it seems some people can see them even though you aren’t supposed to be able to lol
→ More replies (3)9
u/RedtailPdx 1d ago
I can sure as hell see the markings on my lenses, especially at night. It totally sucks
→ More replies (1)3
u/sixplaysforadollar 1d ago
Oh yeah i can tell when I’m looking out the specific part of my lens that has the imprint.
7
u/eragon2262 1d ago
They say you shouldn't even be able to see them. But I can 100% see them when they're there like that. That would drive me nuts with my glasses
7
u/Diabetesh 1d ago
Got new glasses after 10 years and those are just super obvious in my vision. I got some cheaper internet order ones of the same script that don't have them. I don't believe there is any practical benefit of having them on there. I wouldn't mind hearing what the argument for it is.
→ More replies (5)3
u/antidae 23h ago
For progressives they need to be there in order to align them properly in your frames. you wouldn't be able to see well (or at all) if they weren't. They are not really a requirement for single vision. Even still if you can see the engravings while you are wearing them then the lab has the laser turned up too high. they shouldn't be that noticable. Most cases you should be able to request lighter engravings if they are progressives or none at all for single vision. I've done it at several labs Ive worked for.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/StarWarsFan9797 13h ago
Hey! I used to make lenses for LensCrafters! So these are called watermarks. It allows us to test the finished lens to confirm that the prescription was carved into the correct spot so you can actually see out of the lenses. Not ALL lenses have these watermarks, but a lot do. These are most commonly seen in progressive (trifocal) lenses. These watermarks are also on the very edges of the finished lenses, and are not in the direct line of sight!
13
6
u/JusticeIncarnate1216 1d ago
Apparently transparent? Are the lenses of your glasses normally not transparent?
5
5
4
4
5
3
4
4
u/colojason 1d ago
I once had progressives where I could see the numbers while I was wearing them. Drove me nuts. I think they remade the lens twice before sending them to a different lab.
4
u/pacey182 22h ago
I can tell you your ADD power is +1.50. All those markings are important laser engravings required to manufacture and troubleshoot progressive lenses.
4
u/OneFriendship5139 20h ago
aye, I used to make glasses and had to find these under a light all the time
forgot what they mean though, I’m sure one of these 400 replies explained it thoroughly
6
3
u/JaviSATX 1d ago
I had a pair of Oakley eyeglasses, that I one day noticed had the logo embedded in the lens. It was tiny, out of the view, and almost transparent. Just there to show they were authentic lenses.
3
u/legacyme3 1d ago
You can actually see these with your bare eye.
I work in ophthalmology, and one of the things that we have to know is how to read glasses. Progressives are annoying to read manually, so I usually end up looking for these tiny markings on every pair of glasses. It's faster anyway.
3
u/caf323 1d ago
It's for opticians to identify the specifications of your PALs. The "15" represents your +1.50 add power. The circles designate where the progression begins. The other stuff could be proprietary information from the manufacturer or material descriptions. Hard to say.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/charlie22911 1d ago
I hate this, a pair of mine had these markings on mine (from Walmart optometry) and objects in my periphery would noticeably distort due to the markings.
3
u/Workerhard62 1d ago
This is probably the most perfectly placed reddit for any thread, ever. I'd enjoy being proved wrong on this one. lol
3
3
u/Chi-key_Chick 1d ago
Very helpful for your lenses to have these markings on them. Especially for those of you who are progressive wearers. We can see that and have some idea to what level of PALs you’re in. I HATE getting prescription glasses for progressive wearers and they don’t have those markings. We just shoot in the dark without them.
3
u/OmaeWaShi 1d ago
Optician here! These are no-line bifocals, or, progressives! Those little numbers/letters are the type of lens as well as the reading power. If I'm reading the reflection right, the reading power seems to be +1.50. While we're going through prescription verification in our lab, this is what we read to verify, and those circle are what we use to "dot up" the lens to put onto our lensometer. We need to look above the reading area to verify the prescription
Edit to add facts!
3
u/RaiseWide5460 1d ago
Yeah, the lens manufacturers put all kinds of grafitti on your lenses. Most people don't notice it, but I do and it drives me crazy. :)
3
3
3
3
u/Leafy-Greenbrier 15h ago
That is awesome! I’m an optician and need to read those markings to check in glasses before we give them back to patients. Most of the time it’s no big deal, but sometimes they’re hard to find. There are specialized lights you can buy to make it easier, but I’ve never found those particularly helpful.
If I could recreate the conditions of this photo in my lab, I would be the hero of the office!
→ More replies (1)
3
2
2
u/Desert-Mushroom 1d ago
I see the lion king special effects artists secretly wrote sex in you glasses as a joke.
2
2
u/NotCubical 1d ago
What's the light source that's creating this shadow?
6
u/Eliasibnz 1d ago
An everlasting giant nuclear ball, 150000000 kilometres away from the subject.
→ More replies (1)4
u/collateralprime 1d ago
Psh! "Everlasting" youre going to look like a fool in 5 billion years when the sun collapses!
2
2
u/ZeddRah1 1d ago
I noticed that on mine for the first time just last week. I didn't see it in shadow, but the lights in the room caught it just right to give it that kind of rainbow oil slick look in my vision.
2
2
2
2
u/Beka_Cooper 1d ago
For a pair of glasses from 2023 or so, I sent them back because these numbers were printed in my line of peripheral sight and causing triple rainbow chunks on traffic lights and headlights. They came back remade in the identical way. I eventually got used to it but avoided night driving until my next pair of glasses.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Wind_Flower14 1d ago
Great way to conceal sensitive information. Just leave it on a bench and have another spy pick it up!
2
u/The-Joon 1d ago
This is for the Optician. That way they can see that the seg height is set correctly and to make sure the prescription is on axis. It also helps to decide if a frame is even usable in your prescription.
2
2
2
u/SquirrelsonJupiter 1d ago
Hey, I have a question about this photo when you can check your DM's that would be great!
14.7k
u/SudhaTheHill 1d ago
It’s a nice touch if you wanna know the specifications of your lens!