Essilor Ovation?

[MS]

Are they a good brand of progressive eyeglass lens? Is there really a
difference between the Ovation and the Varilux (made by same company), other
than marketing?

[William Stacy]

I couldn't tell any difference.

w.stacy, o.d.

[MS]

Costco says they have the Ovations for $89 per lens pair, in regular plastic
with UV and scratch-resistant coatings. In high index 1.67 for $129.

Comments?

Varilux would cost at least twice as much anywhere, probably more.

In the June 2001 Consumer Reports ratings regarding glasses and eyeglass
chains, Costco had the highest rating among the chains, I believe.

Of course, you have to pay $45 to become a Costco member.

"William Stacy" <wst...@obase.net> wrote in message
news:3E1C59AD...@obase.net...

[MS]

"William Stacy" <wst...@obase.net> wrote in message
news:3E1C59AD...@obase.net...

> I couldn't tell any difference.
>
> w.stacy, o.d.

When I looked at the Essilor web site last night to see what it said about
the Ovation, I was surprised to see there was no mention of it at all. The
only progressives mentioned were the Varilux brand, one wouldn't know at all
by looking at the site that Essilor also has progressives under the Essilor
name.

I sent an e-mail to the info e-mail address that was there on the site (in
France, the company headquarters) and asked about the difference between
Ovation and Varilux. I didn't expect to get a reply, since their web site
doesn't even acknowledge that Ovation exists, but I thought I'd try.

I was surprised to receive a detailed response today from Essilor USA,
describing what they claim are the differences. I'll post that message
below. Any comments?

Interesting that most of the comparison is between the Ovation and the
Panamic, with little said about the Comfort, other than that the width of
the viewing area increases Ovation-Comfort-Panamic. I wonder if there really
isn't much difference between the Ovation and the Comfort, other than
marketing, price, and who they are sold to. (Since you mention you couldn't
tell any difference.) (I recall you (Dr. Stacy) writing before that you
don't recommend the Panamic, as you can't see how it's so much better than
the Comfort to justify the price difference. Do you notice any difference
between Comfort and Panamic though, or also exactly the same? They obviously
tried to create a wider viewing area with the Panamic, thus the name's
similarity to "panoramic".)

-------message received from Essilor USA----

Varilux lenses are different than our Essilor lenses in that Varilux lenses
offers the most comfortable viewing area. Varilux Panamic utilizes Global
Design Management to balance central, peripheral, and binocular vision for
maximum visual comfort. Essilor Ovation utilizes custom fit technology to
match wearer needs by prescription. Panamic's design is extremely soft in
the periphery, (softer than Ovation), whereas Ovation periphery not as soft
as Panamic while utilizing a shorter progression length to accommodate very
small frames. Panamic is designed for hyperopes and myopes and changes near
vision decentration by base curve and add power. Ovation changes progression
length and near vision decentration by base curve and add power. Pan amic
provides smooth, controlled power progression even in the periphery of the
lens. Ovation provides hyperopes aspheric curves for flatter, cosmetically
appealing lenses. Varilux Panamic will offer the widest viewing area,
followed by the Varilux Comfort and the Essilor Ovation. Wearer's will find
less back-and-forth head movement needed with Varilux Panamic, which
ultimately, allows for more visual freedom.

[Specs31]

Which "essilor" company web site did you go to? IF you went to the Varilux
brand and company they would NOT mention the Ovation, that is a SILOR product
another lens division owned by Essilor...
In the Silor division you would see the Super No Line, the Adaptar, the
Natural and the Ovation..

All the same parent company Essilor but MANY divisions..they own equipment
company (essilor) Silor lens division and Varilux lens division and than the
coating company under the Crizal and reflection free names and last but not
least Essilor is ALSO the largest wholesale lab in the USA under the ELOA
..besides making the lens they also have a whole lens frinding division...

Essilor is a big company with a lot of parts :-)

Jeff

[MS]

"Specs31" <spe...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030108182714...@mb-ml.aol.com...

> Which "essilor" company web site did you go to?

I think it was just www.essilor.com. No mention there of Silor, or Ovation,
or any others you mention, much mention of Varilux.

[maf]

" MS" <m...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:10425235...@news-1.nethere.net...

>
> I think it was just www.essilor.com. No mention there of Silor, or
Ovation,
> or any others you mention, much mention of Varilux.
>

For some reason, Essilor does not have very good information on their
website compared to some other companies. However the Essilor Canada has
slightly more info. Here is a quote from the Canada website www.essilor.ca:

"Essilor progressive lenses that are not Varilux do not benefit from the
latest technological and patented innovations from the Varilux products.
However, they offer a good level of quality of vision for a reasonable
price. They are an interesting progressive lens offer."

[MS]

"maf" <m...@switchboard.net> wrote in message
news:NvOU9.722$Db.2...@news.uswest.net...

(quoting from Essilor Canada web site)

>They are an interesting progressive lens offer."

Ah---great sales pitch!!! (LOL)

I bet someone whose native language is not English wrote that. (Most likely
a French speaker--either a French Canadian or someone at Essilor's main
office in France.)

An interesting offer! Wow, that really convinces me to buy the lenses!