Essilor achieves a world record with its new Special Lenses range

Essilor has announced the launch of its Special Lenses range that is designed to help independents support the needs of people with complex vision requirements that cannot be corrected through its standard lens range.

The company has launched a film case study following the optical journey of a spectacles wearer with such problems.

Essilor highlights that over seven million people worldwide have extreme ametropia or other conditions that could require its Special Lenses. Essilor emphasises: “The individual country needs may be small but the needs of these patients are very great indeed.”

The new lenses are manufactured in Essilor’s Special Lenses laboratory in Ligny-en-Barrois, France, by a dedicated team. In some instances, the lenses are crafted by hand, a process that Essilor is emphasising requires “many hours of work by an expert using the latest optical technology and techniques to create a truly personalised lens.”

Essilor’s managing director, Mike Kirkley, said: “Essilor is now able to offer practitioners the best optical solution for every wearer, whatever the complexity of their needs.

Mr Kirkley added: “Our customers have been requesting this service for some time and I’m very pleased to offer lenses that not only meet these visual needs, but are made with the care and quality that customers expect from an Essilor lens.”

Essilor has achieved a world record for manufacturing Special Lenses with the power of -108.00 dioptres and a 6.00 cylinder. The lenses were custom made for a photographer from Slovakia, Jan Miskovic (pictured), who suffers from a number of complex eye conditions, including very strong myopia, amblyopia in both eyes, keratoconus and strabismus.

The new Special Lenses range features in a downloadable catalogue, which is also available on the Essilor website.

Essilor has launched a short film following the optical journey of Mr Miskovic, which can be viewed below.