Eyeglasses & Optical Services at Brass Eye Center in Albany New York

The Optical Shop is committed to providing the best quality eyewear and service available.  We have a large selection of eyeglass frames and lenses to choose from.  Whether you are looking for designer frames, character frames for your child, budget frames or something in between, we have it.  Our knowledgeable and experienced Optical Staff emphasize personal care and service to assure your eyeglasses will provide you with the best possible vision, and meet your fashion and lifestyle needs.   The optician will review lens options with you, and offer recommendations based on your occupational and recreational activities.   Some of the lenses available to you are progressive lenses such as Varilux and Physio, color-changing lenses such as Transitions, as well as specialized high index and polycarbonate lens materials.  The optician will assist you in selecting frames that will be comfortable, durable and functional.  Stop in to see us, no appointment is necessary.

The Optical Shop stands by our products and service and offers a satisfaction guarantee.

About Eyeglass Frames 

We are constantly adding new frames and styles to our selection. We feature the following frames and are happy to order special sizes, colors and styles if you wish:

Rimless

Airlock

Calvin Klein

Totally Rimless

Safilo

Saks Fifth Avenue

Nine West

Liz Clairborne

Fossil

Clairborne

Valentino

Kate Spade

Gucci

Dior

Safilo Titanium

Safilo Team

Safilo Emozioni

Safilo Elasta

Safilo Design

Chesterfield

Adensco

Marchon

Marchon Eyewear

Calvin Klein

Coach

Flexon

Fendi

Nautica

Nike Flexon

Power Rangers

Ariel

X Games 

Princess

About Eyeglass Lenses

Lens Styles

Single Vision: Correction for one focal distance; close, intermediate (computer), far (distance), or correction for astigmatism.

Progressive Addition Lenses: We use Varilux and Physio Progressives to insure easy adaptation. These are for presbyopic patients, people who need correction for reading, who want to see far, near, and everywhere in between without any distracting lines.

Flat Top Bifocals: Lenses that are split into two segments, one for distance and the other for near.

Executive Bifocals: Lenses that are split into two segments with a line extending the whole width of the lens. One segment for distance and the other for near.  These lenses tend to be thicker and heavier then other types of multi-focal lenses.

Trifocal: Lenses that have three segments: One for distance, intermediate, and near.

Specialty and Occupational: We offer many styles of lenses to accommodate your visual needs. i.e. sports eye wear and computer users.

Lens Material

Plastic: Basic lens material that provides good optical quality, ultraviolet protection, and scratch resistance. These lenses can also be tinted to any color.

Hi-Index: Premium Lens material that is a thinner, lighter weight plastic. This lens provides excellent optical quality, ultraviolet protection, scratch resistance, and can be lightly tinted to any color.

Trivex and Trilogy:  Is the newest technology available in premium lens material.  They are thin and have UV blocking; they are lightweight but very durable.  They are the best lenses for drilled rimless frames.  The durability of these lenses exceeds polycarbonate lenses, which has been the standard for safety lenses in children for many years.

Polycarbonate: Premium lens material that is the lightest and impact resistant. This lens provides excellent optical quality, thinner style lens, ultraviolet protection, scratch resistance, and can be tinted to any color.

Glass: Basic lens material that provides superior optics and scratch resistance. This lens also has many disadvantages to its wearer, i.e. heavy weight, thickness, and inferior impact resistance.

Lens Options

Photo Chromatic Lenses: Lenses that adjust their color to outdoor and indoor light conditions. They darken outdoors and lighten indoors. They are available in gray, brown, and green tints. These lenses provide scratch and ultraviolet protection.  You can have the tints applied to either glass or plastic lenses.

Anti-Reflective Coating: Special clear lens coating that is applied to lenses to reduce glare and enhance visual clarity. This coating has three main advantages. Improves vision for both night and day by reducing bright sunlight or the glare from oncoming headlights in nighttime traffic. Reduces eye fatigue by eliminating ghost images making your vision more comfortable. Also enhances your appearance by reducing reflections on the lens surface. We provide the most durable anti-reflective coating available today.

Polarized Lenses: Sunglass lenses that are the best for reducing bright sunlight glare and produce excellent outdoor contrast. These lenses have less than half the glare of regular tinted lenses and include scratch resistant coating and ultraviolet protection.  You can purchases polarized lenses in single vision lenses, bifocal lenses or progressive. 

Lens Tinting: Available option that can be used on the majority of lens materials in an array of colors. This procedure helps reduce glare from light or can be used to enhance appearances.

Mirror Coating: A coating that is applied to sunglasses that adds extra protection from sun glare and makes the lens look like a mirror. This coating is offered in many colors.

About Sunglasses

Our sunglass selection offers basic, high fashion designer as well as those for sports and outdoor activities. All are fabricated for full UV protection. These include:

• Marchon
• Calvin Klein
• Nautica
• Nike
• Safilo
• Carrera
• Fossil
• Dior
• Gucci
• Kate Spade
• Valentino
• Liz Clairborne
• Nine West
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Serengeti - sunglasses
• Bolle - sunglasses
• Julbo – infant and children’s

We offer sports glasses and goggles, and swim goggles that can be customized to meet your vision correction needs.  We have many varieties to choose from.

Swim goggles are available with or without corrective lenses

Sports glasses and goggles available with or without corrective lenses

Ski goggles available with or without corrective lenses

Sun Clips – We have a large selection of frames that include a magnetic clip converting your eyeglasses to sunglasses.  We have a variety of rimless sun clips that we can order to fit your current or new eyeglasses perfectly.

About Children’s Eyewear

Children have unique needs regarding both the durability and the fit of their eyeglasses.

Eyeglass Frame Shape

Just like adults, kids like to look their best! Shapes that create a balanced look will be the most complementary. You should avoid frames that exaggerate the shape of your child’s face. Selecting a frame for your child can be confusing and frustrating. Our Optician and friendly and experienced staff at the Brass Eye Center Optical Shop will be pleased to help with your selection. As a general guideline younger children (ages 2-5) tend to look best in round and oval frames. However……

• If your child has close set eyes:
  Choose frames with a simple bridge color and dramatic temple color. Temples are the frames' “arms”.
• If your child has a long nose:
  Choose frames with a low set bridge.
• If your child has a short nose:
  Choose frames with a high-set bridge. The top of the frame should follow the brow, without blocking facial expressions.
  

The width of the frame should always match the width of your child’s head.

Up to age 4, soft colors are the best. Bright frames will dominate a very young face and lighter skin tone.

Ages 5 to 7: At this age, kids love to wear their favorite color. Odds are a bright frame will go over big.

Ages 8 and up: Older kids want to look grown up. Pick a simple frame that your child will still want to wear as his or her taste matures.

In the end, it’s all about what your child likes and how well they fit. Kids get the final say; otherwise they are reluctant or resistant to wear their glasses.  Poor fitting eyeglasses will not allow children the best functioning vision that is possible for them. 

Children’s Eyewear Fitting Features

Strap Bridges: A strap bridge will reduce pressure on the sinus, septum, and developing bones by distributing the frames’ weight evenly over a wide area.

Cable Temples: Cable temples are perfect for smaller or younger children (particularly under age 3 years old) because they are soft on the ears and hard to pull off. They are also great for active older children who need to keep their glasses from sliding off during sports or play or for kids who spend a lot of time working on a computer.

Spring Hinges: Spring hinges let frames expand as kids grow, getting rid of unwanted pressure that can cause headaches. They resist bending when glasses are taken off with only one hand (something even grown-ups do). They are durable, too.

Storage Cases: Good children’s eyewear always comes with a storage case. “If it’s not on your face, it’s in the case.” Remember this rhyme and frames will stay like new.

Teach children to clean their lenses at least once a day by first blowing on them to remove dust or grit. Then wash them in warm soapy water and dry with a soft clean cloth. Never clean glasses without first wetting them.

When resting glasses on a hard surface such as a tabletop, be sure they are placed face up in order to prevent scratching the lenses. Better yet, keep eyewear in an eyeglass case when not in use.

Warranty:  We recognize that kids will be kids.  With that in mind, we will make frame adjustments, as needed without an additional fee.  We will warranty their eyeglass frames and lenses with one replacement if they are damaged beyond repair, during the first year after purchase.

Additional Features to Consider

Polycarbonate Lenses: Polycarbonate or Trilogy lenses are a must for children.  NASA developed this material for use in astronauts’ face shields because it’s virtually unbreakable. You can hammer these lenses and only nick them in the process. These lenses are the safest, most impact resistant lenses on the market and are the only choice for children.  They also come with a built-in scratch resistant coating.

To make sure we provide the best options, we have a full selection of eyeglass frames for children, keeping function, safety, fashion and fun in mind.

The Optical Shop at Brass Eye Center carries a complete Value Line of affordable frames to fit into any budget.  In addition, we offer a 15% discount on a second complete pair of frames and lenses if you place the order at the same time.

Here at the Brass Eye Center and The Optical Shop we promote eye safety and preservation of vision.  It is important for everyone to protect their eyes and the eyes of their children from the harmful rays of the sun.   Not everyone is aware that your eyes need to be protected from the sun.  Sun damage to your eyes can lead to cataracts, pterygiums, age related macular degeneration and even cancer.  Protect your eyes by wearing quality sunglasses that offer 100% UV protection.  If you have children start them on the path to healthy eye care while they are young.  There are safe, flexible sunglasses available for infants, toddlers and young children.  We carry Julbo in our dispensary; they are made with kids in mind.

Children and adults alike should always wear sunglasses that are 100% UV protected, to provide protection from the sun.  Polarized lenses will offer you additional protection and sharper vision with reduced glare.

The Optical Shop is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00pm.   If our hours don’t work in your schedule speak with our Optician in advance to make other time arrangements.  We look forward to providing your eye care needs here at The Optical Shop located in the Brass Eye Center.

Brass Eye Center is conveniently located for patients seeking eyeglasses, eyewear and eyeglass lenses and frames from Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park, Cohoes, East Glenville, Loudonville, Mechanicsville, Niskyuna, Rexford, Westmere, Colonie, Half Moon and Delmar New York. Please phone 518.690.4140 to schedule an appointment for a fitting of eyeglasses, eyewear or eyeglass lenses and frames.