The College of Optometrists

Well, I get the feeling species have bought the right to use pentax brand name and bought the right to manufacture pentax lenses i.e alpha beta and gamma varifocals within their own labs..ie airways..etc

sean can you confirm? so the lenses won't be coming from japan afterall.

pentax and seiko are the same company, and as far as i know, only their back surface progressives come from japan. But i am not 100% sure.

From what I can gather....and please don't hold me to this (!)... the SS have paid Pentax a LOT of money for the name....AND THAT'S IT! I have also been told they are not even MAR coated?!!?!!

However, OE do use Pentax lenses FROM Pentax, and are currently doing a promotion of designer frames inc. the 1.5 AS MAR lens for £99.

If what I have been told about the SS is true, I'm surprised that Pentax would want to cheapen their brand in such a way...whatever the handout the SS have given them!!

SS & Pentax advert on TV !!

looks cheap to me !!

Bad news guys. This offer is taking off. Every second px is an ABC1...

yes shame they are not actually pentax lenses,my understanding is that SS have bought the lenses (not from pentax), but pentax then certify them as pentax quality. A pretty neat, but cynical use of semantics.

Afraid not. Pentax have sold their entire stock of 1.5 varis to Dougie for a snip...

Pentax have now successfully devalued their brand, and I, for one, will no longer specify them. Other branded lens companies must be delighted.

Incidentally, I also refuse to stock Boss, FCUK, Storm as they are on sale at specsavers. Independants have a huge choice of suppliers, why try to compete on an unlevel playing field?

sean have they also bought single vision uncoated lenses from pentax?

is branding needed on single vision uncoated? we don't sell lenses on branding but have an in store surfacing lab and really push on the minimum thickness for plus, which in the end gives the patient a thinner lens, which is what most remember, rather than an actual name

Well what is in a name?

Do you think Easyvision brand is great?

Do you think their ultratough or ultraclear or even ultimate thin makes a difference? Did it make a difference before?

Just imagine:They have to reach for a brand name to make them sell more uncoated single vision lenses.

Remember nothing beats these pioneering names:

Contact lenses: Acuvue

Spectacle lenses: Zeiss

Varifocals: Varilux

biskiran

I had to wake up and smell the coffee? You too?

we are already having customers coming in and asking if we supply pentax lenses as standard, understandable customer now believes that there are significant differences in quality in uncoated CR39. What are speccies doing with varifocals have they given up on all brands and only supplying pentax varifocals? at £59(ultra standard)does that really make any money?

i had 2 px's this week asking for the same and told them that ss were selling a defunct and out of date pentax design and both px's bought essillor comforts from me. Great job ss, they are making alot of people more aware of proggressive lenses and i will happily convert any px' s enquiring about pentax lenses.

Why convert them into a comfort design now some 15 years old?

this is true why use comfort? We are now using AO Pro Easy which Ao reckon has 19% better reading area and lower surface astigmatism, is comfort still the pinnacle or just essilor hype?