We’ve all seen the replicas of designer sunglasses at gas stations, convenience stores, and retail shops for $20 or less. Ray-Ban, Gucci, Prada, and Oakley models have all been imitated and sold at cheap costs to appease those on a low budget. Though they might look the same, there are several significant differences between the cheap imitations and the real deal. Paying over $100 for a pair of sunglasses may seem a bit much, but once you do the research, you’ll realize that you are definitely getting what you paid for.
Lens Options and Quality
The major differences between generic and designer sunglasses are lens options and lens quality. Though you may be in the market for sunglasses for fashion purposes, you can kill two birds with one stone by purchasing fashionable sunglasses that are also healthy for your eyes. Most designer frames come standard with at least 99% UV protection. This option is imperative to ensure that your eyesight isn’t damaged by the sun, and that skin surrounding your eyes doesn’t age prematurely. UVA and UVB rays are invisible forms of light emitted by the sun that can cause cancer, and severely damage your eyes and skin. Most cheap sunglasses do not come with 99% UV protection unless noted. Even if they do, the UV coating may be a poor quality and can rub off in a short amount of time.
Other options that designer lenses offer that generic lenses don’t are scratch and shatter resistance, polarization, anti-fog, anti-glare, and anti-reflective coating. These options all improve vision, improve eye health, add to longevity of the sunglasses, and increase the sunglasses’ durability. Many of these features are optional when ordering online, so you can design the right style of sunglasses that best fits your individual needs. Designer frames can also accommodate prescription needs for the visually impaired, another option that discount glasses don’t offer.
“The reason that generic sunglasses are so inexpensive is because many of them lack important lens features, like UV protection and polarization,” says Dr. Hodgson of FramesDirect.com. “These features keep your eyes healthy and your vision keen. Poorly made sunglasses can actually harm your eyes more than help them.”
The quality of designer sunglasses are well worth the price. Generic sunglasses are made for mass production with low value, which means that the lenses themselves are poor in value as well. A poorly constructed lens means that it can distort or blur vision, which causes your eyes to strain to see normally. This is can be worse for your eyes than to see with no sunglasses at all.
Frame Quality
The frames of generic sunglasses are usually just as poor as the lenses. An inexpensively made frame means that it can break or bend easily. Generic sunglasses with plastic frames, for instance, are more brittle than the sturdy-made frames of designer sunglasses, which make the generic frames more likely to break if dropped or mishandled. Also, if the plastic frame isn’t a quality production, the screw holes that attach the frames can easily be stripped. Once the screw holes are stripped, the screw will fall out and can’t be screwed back into place, so the frame becomes useless. Screws and hinges on generic frames are made from cheaper materials, causing them to bend and break easier.
Designer sunglasses with metal frames are constructed from materials that ensure that the metal frame doesn’t bend, and that the sunglasses fit your face properly. Generic frames not only bend easier, if you try to bend them back into place they are more likely to break. Also, most designer sunglass companies offer repair options under their warranty, so if you happen to damage a pair of sunglasses you can have them fixed professionally.
Return Policy
When you buy a pair of generic sunglasses from a retail location, the return policy is typically pretty limited. However, designer sunglasses like Oakley, Anarchy, DKNY and Prada all offer a return policy of at least 30-days, and at least a year warranty on most of their sunglasses. Ray-Ban offers a 45 day return policy and a year warranty. That’s a full year that your sunglasses are guaranteed to have no manufacturer defects, whereas generic sunglasses are usually not guaranteed past their return date.
