Did you know?

During the month of May, you can stop in to any Rochester Optical store and purchase a pair of prescription eyewear and get another one FREE!*

There are many reasons to have multiple pair of eyeglasses for special uses.

Do you spend a lot of time in the car?  Perhaps a pair of glasses, fit with your distance prescription and polarized lenses, would make a great addition to your eyewear collection, if you are already getting a new pair of glasses, then why not add a second pair for FREE!

Do you spend most of your day in front of a computer screen?  Then perhaps it would be a good idea to invest in a pair of prescription computer glasses that will reduce the bright screens strain on your eyes.

This month, we’ll be featuring several special and multi-purpose eyeglasses that would be an excellent addition to your optical collection.

*Purchase one complete pair of eyeglasses or accessory item and receive a second pair of eyeglasses or accessory item of equal or lesser value free. Promotion does not apply to sportswear, non-prescription sunglasses, contact lenses or readers. Cannot be combined or used in conjunction with any vision care plan, insurance benefits, package pricing or prior orders. Please see your local retail store for additional details. Offer ends May 31, 2013.

Every once in a while, Rochester Optical Manufacturing Company gets inquiries from people about vintage military eyewear. Often a family member finds a pair of early glasses in a relative’s drawer, or a curator of military artifacts asks for help to identify an unusual pair of glasses. We frequently receive questions about the glasses with the red lenses, below. And these glasses hold a particularly special place in our company’s—and our country’s—history.

Glasses with red lenses were manufactured by Rochester Optical in the 1940s, and were used by the anti-aircraft gunners to help them see the flaming course of tracer shells during WWII. According to the September 13, 1941 edition of Science News Letter, the red glasses allowed the gunners, who used small-caliber firearms called pompoms, to see the little shells in better contrast against the sky. The article referred to “the red world of war” as the gunners’ literal vision and described the pompoms spitting out “rapid streams of death like over-size machine-guns.”

Aviators during the war also used these glasses because they helped them fly at night, especially when they didn’t have time to sit in perfect darkness before assuming the cockpit. The red lenses helped pilots’ pupils dilate more quickly. That’s because the red tint in the lenses block all colors in the visible spectrum except red. Since the rods in the eyes aren’t sensitive to red, the glasses allow the eyes to adjust to darkness more quickly—a real advantage when timing is everything.

Rochester Optical has supplied our country with specialized eyewear since 1932, and we’re proud to have served the military in all the years since. We began as a lens manufacturer, but are now one of the few remaining frame manufacturers in the country. We still have contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, and we’re a leading supplier of specialized military eyewear in addition to fashion eyewear and lenses. Today, just as in the past eight decades, we’re focused on delivering continual innovation and dedicated service to our military and civilian customers.

When you buy a complete pair of eyeglasses from Rochester Optical during the month of April 2013, 5% of your total purchase* will be donated to the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI).

ABVI: Preparing People for Brighter Tomorrows

For the past century, ABVI has diligently worked to empower those who are visually impaired to see “hope, kindness, and beauty beyond all measure.”

Serving Rochester since 1911, ABVI has helped provide training, employment, and career opportunities to blind/visually impaired people and those with other life altering disabilities. While ABVI-Goodwill has received support from generous donors, they have ambitiously pushed forward their mission by self-propagating over 85% of their revenue, allowing them to invest in their Vision Rehabilitation and Workforce Development Services.

Stop in to one of our three locations (Rochester, Greece, and Perinton) and schedule an eye exam. If you purchase a complete pair of eyeglasses you can support ABVI in their mission to develop those burdened by blindness.

*Rochester Optical will donate 5% of total purchase value up to $20 per purchase.