Glasses to Driving

Most people wear driving glasses of one kind or another, including sunglasses to help their vision when driving in bright sunlight. But what color lenses are the most optimum for both bright and overcast conditions?

Firstly, your driving glasses should also protect against 99-100% of all UV rays. You should also remember that despite the color or darkness of the lens, it is the clear outer coating that filters the rays and not the color of the lens itself.

Most people are now aware that they need UV protection and UV radiation comes in at least two primary forms, UVA and UVB and both carry their own dangers. UVA can lead to premature skin aging while UVB may cause skin cancer. UVC has lower radiation and is mostly found in artificial sources such as certain types of lamps. While short-term exposure is not really harmful to the eyes, repeated and extended exposure is.

When considering purchasing new driving glasses, make sure you buy a high quality pair, hopefully these should be polarized sunglasses as they cut out a great deal of the solar glare and dazzle that can result in a temporary blinding effect. Polarized sunglasses work by only allowing light through in a particular direction, and blocking the reflective light that is thrown up from all directions and creating the distracting reflections. Wearing polarized lenses will give you sharper vision and better depth perception by cutting out these reflective rays..

The choice of color of lens for your driving glasses may be determined by the normal weather conditions where you live. However, brown may be the best all-round choice where lighting and weather conditions tend to vary greatly.

For more specific conditions such as driving in strong sunlight, try blue lenses as these will increase contrast by filtering out more of the yellow light and thus improve clarity. Grey will lend itself to medium lighting conditions and provide better color perception while on the road. If driving at dusk, or when the weather is overcast objects can look similar and you will find that amber or yellow lenses will improve contrast greatly.

Finally, don't be fooled into thinking that the cheapest glasses you can find are as good as the more expensive designer sun glasses. The dearer ones are so for a good reason, years of research and technological advancements have led to superior frames and lenses. Driving can be a precarious activity at the best of times, so put the odds back in your favour and get yourself a pair of polarized driving glasses.

Glasses to Reading

How to Choose Reading Glasses

You knew this day would come, but you were just hoping it would be a little later. When you are trying to read you find yourself squinting just to make out the words. Whether or not you want to admit it, it is clear that you need reading glasses. Even though they may be a sign that you are getting older, once you have them, you will be glad you can read again. Luckily, choosing your own glasses for reading is very easy. You don't even have to see a doctor (although you should make an appointment every two years to make sure everything is healthy). Here are the simple steps to choose your own reading glasses.

1. Go to a store that sells reading glasses. You can usually find them at a pharmacy or a mass-market store. Even optical stores sell basic reading glasses.

2. Locate the reading glasses kiosk. Once you are there you will see a large display of glasses with different powers on them. The glasses are measured in 0.25 increments (e.g. +1.00, +1.25, +1.50, etc.).

3. Find the reading chart. Almost every kiosk will have a reading chart displayed that you can use to make sure you are getting the right glasses for you.

4. Stand 14 inches away from the chart. You need to stand exactly this far away to get an accurate measurement. You may want to bring a tape measure with you just to ensure you get the right strength of glasses.

5. Read the chart without help. Without any glasses on, you want to see what lines of text are naturally clear to you. Start with the smallest line and go from there. Once you get to a line that is blurry, the power next to that line is your starting point.

6. Try reading the chart with the glasses. Find the recommended strength of glasses and put them on while you read the chart again. Now the line that was blurry before should be clear. At this point, you should not be worrying about style. You are just trying to find the correct strength.

7. Try a power higher and lower than the first one. This is just to make sure that you are getting the most accurate strength for your eyes without getting one that is too strong. If two strengths seem to produce the same level of clarity, you should opt for the lower one. You do not want to use one that is too strong or you may get headaches.

8. Find a style you like. Now that you have figured out the correct strength of reading glasses, you will want to find one that looks good on you. Even though you are only using them for reading, you still want to be confident in them. There are many different styles available, so you are sure to find one that you like.

9. Read clearly. That is all there is to it. Now you can read without strain.

Art the glasses

 

 

While glasses are a popular collector's item in the UK, collecting Art Nouveau stemmed glasses has never gained much popularity. They are relatively inexpensive and can make a stunning display. I can never understand why people spend a lot of money on modern glasses when they could have antique glasses at a reasonable price.

The Art Nouveau movement had a dramatic effect on the design of drinking vessels. If you would have had a glass of Hock in 1895 it would have been served in a glass that was not much different from what would have been used in ancient Rome. They were usually made from green or brown glass with a hollow, ribbed stem splayed at the bottom to form a foot. They were often enamelled or cut with town scenes or plants and birds. The shape was functional rather than aesthetic. Ten years later a glass of Hock would have been served in a totally transformed glass, which would have been constructed with a proper foot, a long, graceful stem and a stylish bowl which might have been enamelled with elegant flowers and hand cut to heighten its sleek appearance.

These stemmed glasses were much harder to make - the stem, foot and bowl had to be made as separate pieces, using different techniques. They then had to be attached together while all three pieces were the same temperature, to avoid them cracking on contact. The decorative cutting, usually at the base of the bowl, was very tricky to do successfully and these very delicate glasses had to be fired many times so that the fine polychrome enamel colours of the Art Nouveau images could be applied.

Art Noveau had arrived and wine glasses had become exotic objects in their own right. Glassmakers soon realised that for a wine glass to feel good in the hand, it was necessary for the weight to be at the top and bottom, which was the total opposite of the 'roman' glass, where the weight was in the stem and this made it feel clunky. Nowadays, people's taste is for clear glass and also, as glasses are mass produced, the excesses of the Art Noveau style have been lost. However, they make great collectors' pieces and here are some of the names you should be looking out for if you want to collect.

Theresienthal - these glassworks were opened in 1836 by the Steigerwald brothers and they changed hands many times. By the 1890s the Poschinger family had taken over and established a major market selling roman style hock glasses. Because they were already making large quantities of stemware, they were able to produce the widest, most successful range of Art Nouveau drinking glasses, as well as decanters, bowls and plates. They are very collectable and one of the better examples would probably cost you from £200 upwards, but there are cheaper ones to be had.

Fritz Heckert - was a very successful German glassmaker and he quickly adapted to the Art Nouveau style. You might say that the company had compromised by retaining the flared stem for most of the glasses, but they managed to introduce a much more elegant Nouveau style. You should be able to get a nice glass from about £50 upwards.

Moser - first established in 1857, this was probably the biggest of the glasshouses to attempt Nouveau stems. Their style was unique as it focused on cut glasses and shunned the enamel styles. Moser is still a major force in the Czech glass industry today.

Meyr's Neffe and Josephinenhutte - these are a little behind the big three and their output is only partly documented and if you see any glasses marked up 'origin unknown' they could well be by one of them. Like Theresienthal, Meyr's Neffe did tableware as well as glasses and although collectors don't tend to go for these, there are some very nice pieces.

There were probably some 20 or 30 glasshouses throughout Bavaria and Bohemia, all making lovely Art Nouveau stems in the early 20th century. If you are interested in collecting try an antiques fair where there will be specialist sellers who will be very happy to give advice. If your budget is on the small side there are many examples of lovely Art Nouveau stemmed glasses by unknown makers and these can be picked up at very reasonable prices.